Under Covers
by glindalovesshoes
Summary: When Lisbon goes undercover with Mancini, Jane moves in next door to keep an eye on her...and things get messier than either could have imagined. / Jisbon / Goes season 5 AU after 5x04
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello you guys :) Okay this is my first "long" story and I hope you enjoy it! Again special thanks to Nerwen Aldarion for betaing and SteeleSimz for her support!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Mentalist, but I really would like to!

**Under Covers**

(1)

Lisbon wasn't sure how to react on Gabe Manchinis offer. It had been two weeks since she joined him and some other high league people on the poker game and since then he'd asked her out for coffee twice. It had been nice and a welcome distraction from some frustrating cases and Jane's very awkward behaviour since the FBI took Lorelei away from the county prison.

Despite her wariness, Manchini was a nice guy, but she wasn't eager to work with him and the FBI more than necessary. "The Enemy", how Jane had called them.

He was sure there was a Red John mole in the FBI and Manchini was one of the prime suspects on his little list. Jane made no secret of disliking her spending time with the handsome Agent, but it was none of his business.

_Damn it!,_ she thought, Jane had no right to influence her private life with telling her who to meet. It was not like she'd slept with Manchini, they'd had coffee! So all of his fears weren't grounded. She could spend time wherever and with whom ever she wanted. Just because Manchini was kind of handsome and charming, even funny sometimes, it didn't mean she'd tell him all of their secrets. Did Jane trust her at all?

"Teresa? You didn't answer my question, yet", Manchini interrupted her train of thought and she flinched. God. Why did he have to come to her? Did the FBI have some kind of staff shortage? There was this mischievous glint in his eyes, when he leaned forward: "Are you just as speechless that you don't know what to say?"

"Of course not!", she said and shot him a short smile.

Nobody ever made her speechless, except maybe Jane. What should she do? She couldn't give Manchini a straight answer yet, could she?

"This is a really nice offer, Gabe, but I'm afraid I've got a lot of work to do with my own unit. We just got another case, so..."

"Nonsense. Look, Teresa, I really need you on this one. Come on. My boss already talked to your boss and he said it's a great idea to show how good the collaboration between our agencies is."

She chewed her lip. Of course he wouldn't give up that easily.

"Yeah, well... My team needs me." This was a lie and he knew it. The team would be fine with her being absent for a few weeks. Her only problem was that she didn't know if she really wanted to go.

"I think Agent Cho is capable to lead your team two weeks on his own. It's not like he's doing this for the first time. It would be good for the image of our agencies and it would also do a positive remark in your file." Lisbon sighed. Manchini was right.

Since the incident with Red John two months ago, the image of the two agencies had gotten some scratches and lost some of the trust from the public. Agent Wainwright's death was a great loss and they did not have anybody to replace his position, yet. It seemed like there was a curse on this job since Minelli had left. First Hightower then LaRoche and Wainwright… Bertram worked hard to gain trust back and of course an undercover mission with a positive outcome in cooperation with the CBI and the FBI would be good press for both agencies. But why did it have to be her?

"Maybe you should ask someone from our Undercover Unit. They're really good people and I have to admit, I didn't do anything like this before."

"So it's time to learn how to do it. It's really not a tough job. We've just got to find out who's the boss of this drug and arms deal and nail him to the ground. Within two weeks you will be back and everything will be just like it was before."

Why did this man have to invalidate all her arguments so quickly? She didn't even have time to find other excuses. "I have to talk to my boss first..."

"I already did, just like I told you. So this is a yes?"

"I... I..."

"Or are you afraid to have me as a partner? I know this is your first time undercover, so I promise I'll be very gentle... in any way."

Lisbon blushed a little and shook her head: "No! Of course not! Well... I'll go with you under one condition." He raised an eyebrow and grinned. "This... this will remain total professional, even if we are going to play a couple!"

"I would have never thought of anything else. It's not like I'd try to seduce you over a stakeout."

She raised an eyebrow and he grinned: "So it's set?"

"Uh, I guess. But still we have to talk about..."

Suddenly the door burst open and Jane rushed inside: "Lisbon, we..." He stopped abrupt on the sight of Manchini and his face eclipsed. "What's he doing here?!"

"Well hello to you, too, Jane. Usually people knock before entering a private office, but you…" "What's with me, huh?", Jane hissed and stepped forward.

"Guys!", Lisbon shouted and stood up, to separate the men because she feared, this might end in Jane getting punched in the nose or Manchini hypnotized.

"Jane, leave it. Gabe, I think you should go now. Thank you very much for your offer, I'll talk to you after I spoke to Bertram, okay?"

Manchini smiled and flashed a last quick glance at Jane. "I'm looking forward to it, Teresa. Call me at any time." He left the office and went straight to the elevators.

"What the hell was that?!", Jane asked and turned around to Lisbon, who shot him an angry glance.

"Look, Jane, I know you don't like Manchini or working with the FBI, but this is no excuse to behave as a complete jerk towards him! We have to be cooperative and work together."

"Don't talk about being cooperative, Lisbon. They took Lorelei and my only chance to get Red John." Jane stepped to the white couch and sat down while the Agent sighed.

"I know Jane and I'm sorry, but my hands are tied."

"It's not your fault, Teresa. I should have hid her, before the FBI even got the chance, to talk to her."

"This is nonsense and you know it!"

"Is it?", he asked and closed his eyes. Lisbon wanted to add something, but got back on the file she was working on. The silence remained, until Jane finally had the balls to ask her the question she'd waited for since Manchini left. "What did he want?"

"Who?", she asked innocently and could see how he rolled his eyes underneath the closed lids.

"Don't play dumb, Lisbon. That doesn't suit you."

"Guess", she said and grinned. Usually he was the one to play mind games with her, but now she felt like she could surprise him with her intention of doing something he obviously wouldn't be pleased with.

"This is boring. Just tell me."

"Oh, is the Master of Manipulation afraid he won't find it out on his own? Fine, I'll tell you." Jane perked up his ears. "Gabe asked me to accompany him on an undercover case and I agreed." If Jane was surprised, he didn't show it. This bothered her. She'd rather have him angry with her than remaining silent.

"You're serious."

"I am."

He slowly opened his eyes and stood up, walking towards her. "You can't do that."

"I can and I will, Jane. This has nothing to do with personal reasons but with the image of the agency."

"Bullshit! How many times have I told you, that every FBI Agent could be Red John's possible mole?", he shouted and apologized immediately. "Look, Lisbon. Last time he asked me to bring him your head. Who knows what will come next?"

Lisbon sighed and leaned backwards in her chair. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm capable of protecting myself. If – and I say _if _- Manchini is one of Red John's moles, I will find out."

"But maybe it's too late then! I'm serious."

"I've got a gun."

Jane smiled a little while rolling his eyes. "You have more than one gun, dear."

"See? And this is why _I'm_ gonna go undercover with Manchini as a couple…" Damn how she wished she hadn't said this word. Jane stiffened and he looked angry.

"Couple? You're going undercover as a _couple_?"

"Shall I spell it out for you? Where is the problem with that? You pretend we're a couple all the time, if you include me in one of your crazy schemes!"

"You cannot actually compare that!"

"Of course I can! Gabe and I will _pretend_ to be a couple. We actually aren't one."

Jane let out a quick laugh: "Oh you two are already calling each other by your given names? This was fast. You said you'll pretend to act like a couple? Do you really think he invites you for poker and coffee just because he likes your company?"

"How dare you intervene with my private life! It's none of your business. Have you even considered the possibility that he is neither a Red John mole nor just interested in one thing but actually likes me as I am?!"

"Then I will accompany you..."

Her eyes widened in anger: "No! No, Jane, you will not! Please, just leave my office, I've got work to do."

"Like calling Manchini back to confirm you'll join him on your little tête-à-tête?"

"Now you're just acting stupid. Are you jealous or what?!" The words left her mouth accidentally, but somehow his facial expression which he wasn't able to hide fast enough confirmed her. Jane gasped and turned around to leave her office immediately.

* * *

He went into the bullpen, where the team was working on some paperwork leftovers from the last case and laid down on his favourite brown leather couch. It was obvious for him that the team got wind of his and Lisbon's little argument, but he was too stirred up, to answer on their questioning looks towards him. All he did was staring at the little Elvis figure on top of him, which helped him thinking about what just happened.

Lisbon would go on an undercover mission with stupid FBI-possible-Red-John-mole-Manchini. Things have gotten even worse than he thought they would. It was not like he didn't trust in Lisbon's judgement, but after all what happened, they couldn't be careful enough when it came to other agencies. She had to trust in _his_ judgement, when it came to this.

Did she just agree to accompany Manchini to show him he was wrong? Why was it impossible for him to believe that Manchini really just needed her help without having any ulterior motives? Maybe because this guy was just a man like all the other ones who had fallen for the hidden magic of Teresa Lisbon. They saw her independent and strong appearance, but they didn't know her as well as he did and still there was a lot to figure out about her.

He always knew what she wanted, what she needed, in which mood she was – all of this with just one short look into her lovely emerald green eyes… Jane shook his head and rubbed his eyes. What the hell was he thinking? She wasn't his, would probably never be more than just a very close friend if he kept on acting like a jealous fool.

Sighing he thought about what happened a few weeks ago, his faked break down and the trap he set up to catch Red John. He had abandoned her, never called her to let her know if he was okay, if he was still alive. Her messages have been more than clear, she was worried. He could stand the first ones, where she shouted at him, threatened to kill him if he wouldn't call back immediately but when those messages changed to her begging him to come back, he couldn't stand it anymore.

At first she called him more than once a day, but that decreased. Once a day, once a week… And in the last two months of his vanishing, she must have given up, thinking he'd never come back. She should know he didn't do it on purpose, that he had to sacrifice the eventually loss of their friendship to make his break down believable. While thinking about it, he had never caused Lisbon anything but pain and this pain was shown in every message she sent him.

He had kept every single one on his phone, unopened as a silent reminder that there was someone waiting for him. After their short conversation in the church, where he nearly got her crying by popping up out of nowhere and wanting her help, he wanted to torture himself. What would be better than making himself even feel more miserable by listening to Lisbon's unheard voice mails?

The last one had been the hardest.

She had cried, begged him to come back, promised him to do anything if he would just give her a sign that he was alive, that he was okay. Jane had swallowed hard, tossing his phone aside, willing to throw all his achievements over board and telling her what she really meant to him. But he couldn't. Red John's death was too important to him at this time.

At the time he walked into her office, gun in his hand and a glint of fear in his eyes, he wasn't so sure of everything anymore.

"Love you", he'd said and meant it, even if he denied it afterwards. Jane couldn't have borne the thought if losing her or dying eventually with never having told her. What would have been, if they had talked about it? Sometimes he wondered, if she was thinking as much about this day as he was. Their silent ride to Las Vegas, the night they spent together in the storehouse, before the team arrived the next day…

Why was everything slipping through his fingers again? Why couldn't he just get Red John down, have his revenge and finally move on? Jane grunted angrily and stood up from his couch.

"Is everything alright, Jane?", Van Pelt asked concerned, but he shrugged her question off with a wink of his hand. While walking to the kitchen, he tried not to think about his feelings for Lisbon – not that he'd ever admit he had any.

* * *

The procedure of making tea always calmed him down and cleared his mind. Routine, yes sometimes a little bit of routine was good for him. Water, pot, cup and saucer, milk and the teabag. After the water boiled, he dumped a little gulp of milk inside the cup, before he put the bag and water inside. Inhaling the scent of the tea, he went back to the bullpen, critically eyed by the rest of the team.

"Jane, do you have any idea, why Manchini visited Lisbon again this morning?", Rigsby asked. Apparently, the team had been drawing straws to find out who of them had to ask him. Poor Rigsby.

Jane sipped his tea and sat down on his couch again. Yes, now he felt way more comfortable than before. "This is a really good question Wayne, but I'm afraid Lisbon will shoot me, if I tell you."

Cho raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Are they sleeping together?", he asked as if he was talking about the weather. Rigsby chocked on the chocolate bar he was eating and had to cough, to remove the little piece of chocolate from his lungs.

Jane smiled, before he took another sip and sat his cup down on his knee. "Don't worry kids, it will be alright between Mom and Daddy." "

"Excuse me?!"

Jane glanced up and saw Lisbon standing in the doorway, looking at him with a mixture of annoying and blush.

"The team is worrying whether you are sleeping with Manchini or not, so I told them not to worry, because you're a grown woman and know what you're doing at least most of the time. Can we help you, Lisbon?"

She blushed even more and met the curious glances of her team. "Damn it Jane! I'm not sleeping with him", she defended herself, "Really, I am not!"

"None of our business, boss", Cho said and leaned back in his chair.

Lisbon sighed and threw Jane an angry glance as he started to chuckle. "Listen guys, I just wanted to tell you that I'll be on a job in the next few weeks."

"She's going to do an undercover mission with no one else than Mr. Manchini from the FBI", Jane announced in some kind of showman voice to the rest of the team.

"You're going undercover, boss?", Van Pelt asked excited and turned around to meet her eyes.

Lisbon nodded silent and stepped forward into the bullpen, turning her back to Jane showing him she excluded him from the conversation. "I can't tell you much about it, because it's a FBI case, so we'll leave some time next week and stay there about two weeks up to a month. It's all about how long it'll take to complete the mission."

"Don't forget telling them you are playing a couple", Jane interjected grinning.

"We are… Oh shut up, Jane! Could you for once mind your own business? You'll stay here with the others anyway. Cho, you'll take over my place as the team leader while I'm away and I officially give you permission to shoot Jane if he does anything stupid."

"Will do so", Cho answered in a neutral tone, but Jane knew he'd take Lisbon by the word, if it was necessary.

"Ouch, Lisbon. That hurt."  
"Good!", she answered pleased with herself, "I'm going to tell you everything when I get the permission to do so. Keep on working, guys, you're doing a great job." With this she turned around and went back to her office, without throwing him a last glance like she usually did.

Jane needed time to think, and he wouldn't get the needed silence in the bullpen with all the ringing phones, keyboard ticking and conversations between the agents. That's why he stood up, grabbed his cup of tea and made his way up to the attic, his little safe haven, where he hid most of the time.

Except for Lisbon, no member of the team had ever visited him here and this was good, because although he liked them, he didn't want them to invade his personal space. With her, it was something slightly different.

She was allowed to see his bad sides, know his dirty secrets and didn't judge him at all. No, she was always looking out for him, saving him, she was his saviour, his Lisbon. The following thought may be selfish, but he wanted her for his own. Jane was sure, that he was about to lose her, if she actually went with Manchini to this stupid mission, she just agreed to because he pushed her into it.

He groaned and let himself fall down in the makeshift bed. The question was how he could make Lisbon stay here. Making her angry at him wouldn't help, she'd just be glad to get away from him in time and let Cho deal with him. Besides, he didn't want her to get angrier than she was anyway.

No, forcing Lisbon to stay here because he did something stupid wasn't good either. He had to keep an eye on her, had to keep her occupied, so Manchini wouldn't try anything and she wouldn't be tempted to try something either.

Suddenly Jane started ginning like a fool. He had a plan. A really stupid plan, but it might work, if he timed it perfectly. To his surprise, it was completely legal too, so Lisbon would have no choice but live with it.

* * *

_Two weeks later..._

Lisbon was suspicious. Jane had been acting strange the last two weeks. She didn't know whether he was ill or had some game in motion, but his behavior was more than abnormal. He _behaved_.

He had neither upset any suspects, nor any members of the law enforcement, who were usually his most favourite victims. She even looked in his file to see if it was any special day for him like the birthday of his wife or daughter, their wedding date or something else. Nothing. Patrick Jane played by the book for once in his lifetime.

Maybe she should mark this date in her calendar, so people would believe her, if she ever had to tell anyone. Jane never behaved, never. Not even if she begged him to. This was the reason, why Lisbon knew something was going on in the crazy mind of his.

She wondered, if she should talk to him, ask him what it was, but on the other side… it was good to know he might not pull any kind of crap during her absence which would get Cho in trouble.

Furthermore, she had no complaints on her desk, no scheduled appointments with Bertram because of his irreproachably behavior and no additional paperwork. It felt like working with a completely normal consultant for once. What did she do to deserve this little piece of heaven?

Deep down she had a hunch that his demeanor was because of her undercover mission with Manchini coming closer and closer. If he thought she'd cancel it, because he acted like a normal person, he was very mistaken. Quite the contrary, Lisbon was kind of relieved that she was about to leave him in Cho's custody without having to worry about the trouble he would start while she was away.

Sighing, she closed her last file for the next few weeks and put her jacket on. Tomorrow morning, she and Manchini would be on their way to Carmel Valley, one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in San Diego.

He'd sent her the information about the case a few weeks ago. The FBI had taken aim at a drug and arms deal, whose boss was supposed to live in this area, right at the border to Mexico. They wanted to catch the big fish, so they could stop this business once at a time. It was a difficult undertaking, but if they'd be able to nail the boss down, CBI and FBI would get huge positive publicity and the negative press they got since the Red John incident, would be forgotten.

Lisbon switched the light off and headed towards the bullpen, where her team was still working over their reports from the last case. It was Van Pelt; who recognized her first and put a smile on her face:

"You heading home, boss?"

Lisbon nodded and leaned in the doorway, her eyes wandering over the members of her team.

"Our flight is scheduled for tomorrow morning and I have to get some things ready before leaving though. I hope it won't be too long. If anything happens, don't hesitate to call me, okay?"

Cho raised an eyebrow, which made her feel quite uncomfortable.

"I mean… uh. You know what I want to say, Cho. Stop grinning, Rigsby! Look, I'm just worried, that…"

"Everything will be fine, boss", Van Pelt reassured her, "Just enjoy your little trip to San Diego and maybe bring us something, when you get home. You deserve a little vacation."

Lisbon's eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms: "I'm not on vacation! We have to find the boss of these arms and drug dealers and…"

"While sipping cocktails on the beach. We got it, Lisbon", Cho said with a hint of a smirk in his face, "You just go, I'll bridle the two them. Have fun."

She struggled a bit, debating whether to finally leave or not. Cho was more than able to… wait. The _two_ of them? Why only two? Her team contained five members, including herself!

Suddenly she realized, that one very special person was not in the room, worse, she hadn't seen him all day!

"Where the hell is Jane?", she nearly shouted, stepping inside the bullpen and shooting them a death glare, "I haven't seen him the whole day!"

The three of them gave each other knowing looks, but none of them said anything.

"Where is he?! I accept every answer except prison, kidnapped or…"

"Vacation", Cho said finally.

"What?", she answered surprised and searched for a lie in the eyes of the other two members but it seemed like Cho was telling the truth. Why should he lie about something like that anyway? If it was any other person, Lisbon would shrug it off, but Jane?

"Jane _never_ takes vacation and you know it! What does he have in mind and where is he?! He didn't ask me for vacation and I didn't sign any papers, so he has no right to leave the CBI!"

"Actually he has", Cho pointed out and held up a sheet of paper, "It's signed by Bertram – and before you ask, yes I have checked it up. Bertram agreed, since he had no real vacation since he joined the CBI."

"He should have told me! I'm the leader of the team and his boss."

"Well, he did not have to, boss. Since he asked for vacation while I have the leadership for the team, he is my responsibility and actually it's none of my business whether he wants to go on vacation or not"

"What about his six month fake-breakdown to catch Red John! Wasn't that vacation enough for him?", she asked sarcastically.

"Since it was officially part of his undercover operation, no."

Rigsby and Van Pelt tried hard to hide their smiles, but didn't succeed. This might be the longest argument Cho and Lisbon had ever had!

It made Lisbon even more furious about the whole situation. This was anything but funny. Of course Jane would do something, to ruin her undercover mission. She should have known! Great, now she could call Manchini to blow everything off, get an embarrassing dressing down from Bertram, because her consultant ran away _again_ and if it got even worse, chuck in her job. Groaning and frustrated, she kneaded her nasal bone, debating what to do now.

"Van Pelt, put an APB on his car and track his cell-phone. Cho, I want you to retrace his last steps and see what could have made him run again. Rigsby, we're heading off to his motel room and find out where he's gone. Maybe this time he left us a letter or something."

"Have you considered just _calling_ him?" Cho asked while the other Agents didn't knew if they should follow their bosses orders, since they knew Jane had his reasons not to tell.

"What?" Lisbon seemed a little surprised, "No, I… I…" She searched for her cell-phone and pressed the number one button on her speed dial.

"Take it, take it, take it", she mumbled and turned her back to the team.

It didn't take long and she could hear Jane's cheerful voice at the other end of the phone.

* * *

Jane had already left Los Angeles behind, so San Diego was only a stone's throw from now. With the nearly empty road, the long drive had not been that exhausting, but still. He was a little tired and his mind wrapped up in thoughts he had, while driving cross LA without visiting his house in Malibu. Knowing that it would only bring back bad memories, he had decided not to stop there, but drive along.

He was a man on a mission and as sorry as he felt for making himself not to think about his dead family, the game he had in motion was more important now.

The consultant wondered when Lisbon would finally recognize his absence from the CBI. He hadn't said goodbye to her yesterday evening, but brought her a very delicious self made sandwich as some kind of pre-apology for what he had in mind to do today. Oh she would be pissed off, when she found out about his vacation plans.

He already could imagine the scene, when she got into the office, asking for him and find out about his leaving. The poor team. She'd force Van Pelt to put out an APB on his car and track down his phone or something, maybe even make one of then drive to his motel room.

His decision, to tell the team a few minor parts of his plan, gained him an advantage. Of course he wouldn't tell them everything, just what they needed to know, mixed with a few little lies and everything was set.

The thought made him smile a little. Lisbon had been so suspicious of his accurate behavior, which - he had to admit - had bored him out of his mind. Really, his job was no fun, if he couldn't piss off any suspects or lawyers, who threatened him afterwards.

Well, it was one of the things one did for a greater purpose, he thought sighing, but started grinning while remembering his little visit to Bertram two weeks ago.

xxTMxx

_Jane hated to sit inside the anteroom of Bertram's office; waiting for the damn secretary to finally tell him he was able to enter his boss's office. The middle aged woman wore a stiff trouser suit and looked like something in the room smelled bad, combined with a hint of sadness in her eyes. He took a quick smell at his jacket and considered, he was obviously not the reason for the women's bad mood. She worked here since he joined the CBI a decade ago and seemed to have begun to hate her job after Bertram took over the place of the former director._

_Let's see what's new, Jane thought while leaning back in his wooden chair. He'd analyzed her years ago, but today, something was a little different about her. He hadn't anything to do anyways._

_Still no sign of an engagement ring, so she's not married. Her job takes too much time away for her to go outside a lot… scratch that, she's not the dating-type anyways. She gave up waiting for her prince to come a long tome ago. Oh, look at that! A new frame on her desk!_

_He stood up, pretending to take a closer look at the drawing on the right wall next to her desk. _

"_Can I help you, Mr. Jane?!", she asked annoyed when she caught him glancing at the photo on her desk. _

"_Is this your mother?"_

"_Yes", she whispered and touched the frame carefully, "Why do you want to know?" Her eyes shimmered a little. _

_Oh no. He should have just stayed on the damn chair. _

_Jane cleared his throat and laid on a neutral expression: "I'm sorry for your loss."_

"_I wasn't able to go to her funeral yesterday, because I had to work. Director Bertram said he needed me, so I couldn't fly over to Pennsylvania. "_

_Well, that explained her anger at her job. The poor woman. Bertram could really be an ass sometimes. No offense to the grieving secretary, but he had more important things to do now! What took Bertram so long to let him come in?! Did he enjoy making his visits look like Jane was some teenage boy who was called into the headmaster's office?_

_As if someone had heard his silent plea, the phone on the secretary's desk rang and Bertram told her to send him in. _

_Jane opened the office doors and went straight to one of the seats in front of Bertram's desk. _

"_Mr. Jane. To what do I owe the honour of your visit?", he asked sarcastically._

_It was no secret that the consultant and the director didn't like each other, but except for Bertram, Jane always enjoyed playing with him._

"_Oh well Gale, an honour it is indeed. The last time we met here, you wanted to quit Lisbon's job and split the team up."_

"_And you threatened to go public with what really happened with Wainwright."_

"_Threat is such a harsh word. I just pointed out your options. But that's water under the bridge, isn't it?", Jane pulled a sheet of paper out of his jacket, "I need you to sign off my vacation papers."_

_Bertram took the document he hold out towards him and skimmed it over. _

"_You want vacation? What for? Weren't the last six months you spent in Vegas drinking your ass off enough vacation for the rest of the year?" _

"_Like I said, it was all for a greater purpose."_

"_Oh you mean sleeping with Lorelei Martins? Yeah, that is really part of a greater purpose."_

_Jane flinched at the name of Red John's minion, but tried to stay calm. Before he went here, he had counted on Bertram throwing the past six months into his face, but hearing everything so shamelessly pointed out hurt more than he would have thought. _

"_Look, we can do this the easy way, you signing off my papers and I'll leave, or…"_

"_Is this a threat _again_, Mr. Jane?"_

"_If you want to look at it like it was one…"_

"_Give me one reason why I should sign off these papers? What are you up to? Another faked breakdown? Or wait, fake your death to draw him out?"_

_Well, that wouldn't be a bad idea, Jane thought, but shook his head. _

"_It has nothing to do with Red John."_

_Bertram raised an eyebrow: "Look, Jane. I don't have time for this."_

"_Then sign off the papers." _

_The consultants facial expression was hard and the director hesitated a second, before he sighed and finally signed on the line._

"_Don't make me regret it, Jane. Because next time I won't falter to fire Lisbon and you for your actions." _

_Jane stood up smiling, taking his vacation papers and going to the door. Before he went out, he turned around one last time: "The game is up then."_

xxTMxx

The hot summer heat outside made him sweat in his suit, although he had already gotten rid of the jacket and vest. Since his old car had no air condition, he had to wind down the window and enjoy the little cooling breeze of the air stream.

It was then, when his Phone began to ring and Lisbon's name popped up on the display.

"Finally", he grinned and grabbed the phone which had been liying on the passenger seat the whole time. Jane turned the volume of the radio down and answered the call in a cheerful innocent voice:

"Lisbon! It's nice hearing from you. How are you? Don't you have to be at home, packing for your big journey instead of chasing my track down like I was some terrorist? I can assure you, that…"

"Cut the crap, Jane! Where the hell are you?!"

Oh oh, she was mad. This would be fun!

"On vacation", he answered simply, which made her even more furious. He loved to mess with her head. Hopefully Van Pelt did as promised and tried not to track him down, otherwise his "surprise", how he called his plan, wouldn't work out.

"You are never taking vacation Jane, you're driving."

She must have figured it out while he had been thinking, hearing the noise of the road through the speaker of the phone. Well, there was no point in denying.

"People drive to get from one place to another, Lisbon. There's nothing uncommon about driving. About your assumption me never taking vacation, well… I do now. We all need a little from time to time. By the way I'm sorry for having not informed you about my plans, but you were so busy with preparing your "undercouple" mission with Manchini, so…"

"Under what?!", she snorted and he could see her giving him her Annoyed-with-Jane-look.

"Never mind", Jane smirked and waited for her to say anything, "Look, Lisbon, if it's not something very important, would you mind, if we talk about my vacation plans later? I really have to take care of the busy road." Well that was a lie. There was no car in sight and he'd arrive in San Diego in less than an hour and had plenty of time left, until his excellent plan would strike.

"Jane, I want you to come back immediately."

"I'm sorry, but that's not possible."

"Then at least tell me where you're heading to, so I know that you're okay." Her voice became much softer now, with a slightly undertone of worry in it.

Jane pressed the phone closer to his ear to hear her breath coming in and out, and awkward silence filling their conversation. She really was worried, worried that he'd vanish again for an unknown part of time and leave her once more. It made his heart ache a little. He didn't want her to be afraid for him or making everything her business.

"Look, Lisbon. I'm fine, really."

"No you're not, Jane. You asked for _vacation_ and you have been acting strange the last two weeks, there's no way in denying it. You were anything but your usual annoying self. What is wrong? You know that you can tell me anything. Is it because of Lorelei? We do anything to find her, you know that. Maybe… If I play on Manchini's good side, he'll tell me where she is eventually."

This thought made him smile a little. Oh his lovely, selfless Lisbon, his good Samaritan, who was always there for him. Whatever he did to deserve this woman – and he knew de did not deserve her - he would never be able to pay her back for all the pain he'd caused her over the years and especially in the last six months.

"Teresa. You don't have to worry about me. I assure you, I'm fine. Never felt better and you should not agonize over my actions. I truly am sorry for not telling you goodbye, but we'll see each other sooner as you think."

"What is that supposed to mean?", she asked suspicious.

"Well, since the FBI needs your help, you will get this drug baron for this incapable agency and kick his ass."

"But we don't know how long it'll take, Jane. Please tell me where you are so I can leave you with the knowledge that you're not in trouble." Her voice was concerned now.

"I'm on my way to Malibu", Jane lied, "I have to take care of some things."

Lisbon gasped surprised, but didn't say anything else. He could feel that she was a little relieved to finally know his destination and it made him a little sad to know that he'd lied. When she'd find out the truth tomorrow, she'd freak out and haul him over the coals.

"I hope you'll find what you want", Lisbon said.

"You, too. Have a nice journey, Lisbon. See you!"

With this be hung up and tossed the phone back on the passenger seat. Everything was set now, the game could begin.

Grinning, Jane turned up the volume of the radio, listening to the saxophone solo playing. Carmel Valley was 50 miles ahead.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it so far! Please tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate that :)


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here comes the next chapter! WOW I was so happy to get all of your reviews, thank you, I really appreciate it! This is so awesome that you like the story and I hope you'll like the next chapter as much as the first one.

Again a big thank you to Nerwen and Steele! You're great, guys :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Mentalist, but maybe my parents will surprise me with something on my birthday... one never knows ;)

* * *

**(2)**

"So, Teresa, welcome to Carmel Valley", Mancini said cheerfully as the car passed the big entrance sign at the end of the road. They had arrived at San Diego International Airport two hours ago. An FBI Agent had greeted them and lead them out into the parking lot where they got into the waiting Porsche Cayenne, their car for the next few weeks.

Usually Lisbon was the one to drive the car when she was with her team. No one ever doubted that, not even Cho… Jane maybe. But she could count the times she let him drive while she was sitting in the car. She preferred to get to her destinations… alive. Since Lisbon was only a "guest" in this undercover scheme, she tried not to hard to push Mancini and backed off… for now.

If he thought that, only because she agreed to accompany him, she would change her behavior due to the fact that they were playing a couple, he was very wrong.

The flight on the plane had been nice. They had mostly talked about the case, filled each other up and checked out their knowledge about the fake identity. Not that it was quite difficult.

They had met each other at a bar where she'd been a waitress, married quickly after a few weeks and been together for two years now. Since Gabe used to be working for a high rated economic company and gotten a very good job offer in San Diego, they had decided to move here.

She didn't like her part that much, because she was supposed to play the role of a cute little housewife who was waiting every evening for her husband to come home, but she had no choice. It wasn't his fault; he'd explained to her on the plane, some guys of the FBI's undercover unit had come up with it.

For the time they "moved in", Mancini was supposed to be on vacation for two weeks until his official new job started. If they hadn't busted up the arms and drugs deal then, he'd have to pretend to go to work over the day and come back in the evenings.

Now here they were, Elizabeth and Mark Smith, on their way to their new home!

Lisbon watched out of the car window, a little stunned from the beauty of all the big houses where the riches and famous of San Diego lived. The only house she knew which looked similar from the outside was Jane's Malibu house, which he inherited with his dead wife and child.

She had never lived in a house which came near the standards of these ones. Of course she grew up in a big house with her brothers, but after her mom died and her dad stopped working and became a drunkard, they'd soon run out of money.

Sighing, the agent leaned back in her seat and watched the houses flying by. Probably most of the people who lived here never had to experience what she'd been through in her life. Most of them were simply born rich; the less of them went from rags to riches.

Lisbon was reminded of whne she tasted the advantages of being rich, when Mashburn had took her out on dinner once and into an expensive hotel afterwards, where she'd had her last one-night-stand for almost two years. God, this was weird. She shook her head in memories to that night. Not that this dinner had been anything special. Jane took her out on fancy locations all of the time and although she often denied it… she liked it. A lot. Her consultant made everything being fun, no matter if it was an expensive restaurant or simply a sundae at the rooftop café of the CBI… Dammit! She was supposed to concentrate on the job and not on Jane!

Mancini pulled into a street and drove, until he reached the end and drove up a short drive way in front of a house build in a Mediterranean style. For a second Lisbon thought she'd seen a car similar to Jane's in the only half closed garage of the neighbour house, but she shook her head and ejected the thought off her head.

Why did she have to think about him now?! She should be glad to finally get a little vacation and not having to worry about her job or him. Damn this house right next to theirs!

The family who lived there simply had just a bad taste in cars… like Jane. Maybe this was such a thing in this world, she'd never truly understand. Showing off their money by collecting and driving weird old or over expensive cars.

"So, here we are… Elizabeth", Mancini grinned and turned off the engine. "Do you think I can shorten your name a little? Into Ellie, Liz or Beth or something? I mean, you're still my wife and Elizabeth sounds so… pretentious."

Lisbon made a face and nodded. She hated to be called by nicknames, except from her family. But this time she had to bite the bullet and go along with it.

"Of course you can. I didn't come up with that stupid name anyway. You don't want me to call you Marky, do you?"

"In the bedroom, maybe", he laughed while Lisbon's eyes widened. "I was just kidding, Teresa. This house has four bedrooms, so we don't have to share one."

"I don't have a problem with sharing a bedroom", she pointed out, "Four you said?"

Mancini shook his head and got out of the car, getting their luggage out of the trunk. Because the house was fully furnished, they didn't had to bring anything but clothing.

Lisbon followed his action and closed the car door silently. So… this would be her new home for the next few weeks.

The house was an ochre and sandy colour, with a russet roof. It hat two floors, whereat the second one was right underneath the roof. A small stone way lead around the right side of the huge garage to a little entrance area with a wooden front door.

It was nice. Not as fancy as the other houses here, but really nice, Lisbon thought and turned around to look at the front garden, where little palms and bushes were growing on the grass area.

"Would you help me with the baggage, sweetheart?", Mancini asked suddenly.

"Sure uh… Mark." She'd tell him later, that he should never call her this again. Ever. Neither in public nor when they were private.

They took their suitcases to the front door and Mancini handed the key over to Lisbon, who opened the heavy door with it. This was, when she suddenly lost the ground under her feet and found herself in the arms of the FBI Agent. A little scream escaped her mouth, while she struggled and wanted to be let down, but his grip was hard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Isn't it usual for the husband to carry the wife over the threshold?"

"With newlyweds, yes! Let me down, Gabe."

Mancini laughed and stepped inside the house to let her down. Lisbon straightened her blouse and threw him an annoyed glance, before she pulled the suitcases inside the great hallway, which contained a beautiful marmoreal fireplace with a leather suite in front of it. On the left hand side, a wide stairway led up to the second floor.

"Looks nice, eh?"

"Yes", she answered looking around with curiosity.

"The house is actually sold, but we got the permission to live here, until the new owners show up here in about six weeks. So... Do you want to see the bedrooms? I could show you around."

"Sure..."

Mancini lead the way across the hallway into the open kitchen, which was featured with lots of expensive kitchenware, Lisbon didn't even knew existed. Well, if Mancini thought she'd stand in the kitchen, pretending to be the little housewife, who took her husband the shoes off after he came home from work, he was totally wrong.

It wasn't that she couldn't cook, she had make meals for her brothers every day after her mom died and the boys got tired of spaghetti with tomato sauce four times a week.

They had to arrange something with the cooking though.

As if he'd read her thoughts, Mancini turned around and leaned against a counter.

"I'm not the worst cook, what about you?"

"Me neither", she answered hesitantly.

"Good. I think we can share then, it's only fair. And I don't think we'll be here most of the evenings anyway, since we have to get more information about El Barón and his trade with drugs and especially arms across the Mexican border. We won't get it with sitting in front of the fireplace."

Lisbon nodded: "We know his name. It can't be that difficult to find out who he is. It'll be more difficult to prove that he is the boss of it."

"You're right, but we shouldn't underestimate his influence here. People are afraid, at least that's what our informants found out about him. It'll take more than a badge to make them talk. They're scared he'd find out. And El Barón is not known for letting people who blow the whistle on him alive."

If she wouldn't know, she'd think Mancini looked a little bit worried. For the first time since they left Sacramento, Lisbon really smiled and let herself lean onto the counter next to him, brushing his shoulder friendly with hers.

"We're going to do this, Gabe. We're good agents."

"Wouldn't doubt it for a second." He shot her a glance she couldn't quite define, that's why she got up and pointed to the living-room on their left site.

"Shall we finish our tour through the house or what, Mr. Smith?"

He grinned and nodded, leading her the way into the living area, which had also very high furniture and another fireplace at the wall.

"Why do people need two fireplaces when it's nearly always summer here?" Lisbon asked shaking her head.

Mancini shrugged. "Don't ask me… Now, would you like to go upstairs and chose a bedroom? We could still sleep together in one… Okay I'm just joking. Be cool, Teresa", he laughed and held his hands up in surrender.

The first floor had four bedrooms, each one attached to a separate bathroom. One of them was a child's room, so this fell out of the line.

While Lisbon inspected every one of the three bedrooms, she found out especially the last one had a flair she liked. The room was modern, but not too particular. It contained a nice wooden king-size bed with big red pillows and a fitting blanket. There were some colored pictures on the walls and hidden closets. All in all this was a room she could live in for the next few weeks.

Besides it was the only bedroom with an attached balcony on the side.

Smiling, Lisbon opened the French window and stepped out on. A little iron chair with a fitting small table stood on the left side and gave everything a cute touch. Lisbon leaned over the balustrade and watched right into the bedroom of their neighbour's house, which were only a few yards away. It had a balcony too.

She had to remind herself to always close the curtains, because she didn't want to give strangers access to look into her room.

"Teresa?", Mancini called and made her turn around.

She closed the door and stepped inside, where her pretend-to-be husband was waiting with her two suitcases.

"What did you put in there? Bricks?"

"Something like that", she laughed a little hysterically. Maybe she shouldn't tell him, that one of the suitcases contained three other weapons, beside the one in her purse. If Jane was here, he'd call her the poster girl of the year for the NRA again.

"What's so funny?" Mancini asked and sat her suitcases down on the bed.

"Nothing, I was just thinking", Lisbon said quickly, "I guess I'll take this bedroom if it's okay with you."

"Of course. I thought as much, it really fits to you. I'll take the one across the hall, so if you ever feel the urge to visit me…"

"Gabe!", she mumbled offended and blushed at the same time.

Why did he have to be making ambiguous offers to her? They were on a case and they had to be professional. There was no place for attractions to each other and she didn't want the whole thing to become some kind of undercover love affair with her colleague.

Mancini was a nice guy, she liked him and she'd go so far to say that she was attracted to him, but they couldn't risk anything. It was one thing to play a couple, but it was another one to really be one.

"Well… I'll leave you alone now, so you can unpack. Maybe we can order some take-out food tonight, because I'm beginning to feel a little hungry. How about you?"

"Uh… sure", Lisbon said, hiding her hands in her pockets, "See you later."

Mancini left her room and suddenly she was all alone.

Sighing, she lay down on the bed, next to her suitcases and rubbed her hands over her face.

"So, Teresa. Here you are."

Why did she agree to this again? If she weren't here right now, she'd be sitting in her office with her team right next to her in the bullpen, working on some files or a new case… Then she'd go over to remind Cho and Rigsby to do actual work and not play one of their paper basketball games, then Jane would distract her and making her sit down on the couch next to him. They'd bet who of the two agents would win and afterwards she'd go back into her office, Jane following her. Jane…

No, she shouldn't think of him! But everything seemed better at the moment, even boring paperwork than being here.

She didn't want to admit it, really didn't want to, but deep inside her stomach she had this weird feeling, she remembered from when she was a child. The feeling of homesickness.

In a minute, Lisbon had grabbed her phone and pushed the speed dial to Cho's cell.

"What's up, Lisbon?" he asked in his ever stoic voice.

Now she hated herself for being chicken and calling her second in charge. He'd feel like she was checking up on him, although he was totally capable of dealing with everything himself.

"Uh… I… I just wanted to ask if you got a new case." Okay now she felt stupid.

"No."

"Ah…" Lisbon answered and a long silence followed.

"You alright, boss?" Cho asked, a little bit concern in his voice.

"Yes, sure! It's great here, we have a great house and it's a great neighbourhood and Mancini is great and everything is great." Did she really use the word "great" five times in one sentence? Now she really sounded pathetic.

"Glad to hear that, boss." He sounded amused.

"Yeah… well… uhm… greet the team for me, will you?", she asked.

"Sure… take care, boss. Van Pelt says she misses you."

This touched the female agent's heart and raised her to smile: "Thank you. I miss you, too. Goodbye, Cho."

"Bye, boss."

With this she hung up and tossed her phone onto one of the large pillows. This had been so awkward, so embarrassing. No doubt Cho knew exactly why she called. The only good thing about it was that Jane wasn't there to vex her with it.

"Argh!", she groaned, hitting the mattress with her head a few times. Even when her annoying consultant was not there, he succeeded in messing with her head.

Somehow she had the feeling, this six weeks would become really long.

* * *

After unpacking her baggage, Lisbon had calmed down a little and debated whether to go and talk to Mancini or exploring the house a little more. Since she wanted to avoid conversation with her colleague right now, she went downstairs, looking for a door into the backyard.

She finally found one between the kitchen and living-room and pushed it aside, so it could lead her out onto a small terrace, framed with lovely flowers and a white pebble stone way to the Pool a few yards away from her. On one, side, only a small hedge separated the house from her neighbour's one, while on the other side, a huge batten fence blocked her view.

Next to a few palms, there was also an orange tree next to a few rosebushes. Lisbon left the pebble stone way and went over, to see if it had fruits and was happy to find a perfected round orange. Some of the other ones were still a little green, so it would take some time, until they could be harvested.

She picked the fruit and smelled it's delicious smell. Oh how she loved fruits! Usually her favourite fruit were strawberries or sweet red apples, but she had none of them right now, so the orange was perfectly fine.

Lisbon began to peel the paring off while walking towards the pool in front of her. Gladly she realized she brought her bikini, so perhaps she'd have some time to take a bath in the cooling wet.

The pool was oval and surrounded by sandstone colored flagging. A small stairway lead the into the pool, so it was easy to get in and out.

Although it felt a little awkward, she turned up her trousers and put off the shoes, sitting down and sliding her feet into the water. It was a nice cooling, because the heat of the afternoon sun made her sweat a little. Peacefully, she finished her fruit, making the water splash a little with her feet, when a loud scream of a woman disturbed the silence, followed from a loud splash and laughter of another woman and a man.

Out of curiosity, Lisbon got up and went back to the orange tree, where the hedge had a little hole. She hadn't seen any of her neighbours yet and wondered, how they were. Wasn't it usual to greet the new neighbours with something?

Because she couldn't see much, she stepped forward and pushed a branch aside. Yeah, this was better. She could see the large pool now and something which looked like an island air mattress.

Seemed like her neighbours were the fancy kind of type and probably not the kind of people she'd like to hang out with, she thought, when she saw a woman climbing out of the pool.

The blonde woman looked like a model with fake breasts, wearing a too tight bikini and sunglasses. Why would people swim with sunglasses in their hair? To her surprise, another woman turned up, reaching her a small towel. She did not look too much different except for her fake blonde hair and too many hours on the tanning bed. All in all they both looked like they had just jumped out of the last Playboy.

Oh God, Lisbon thought shocked, maybe their neighbour was some kind of a Hugh Heffner wannabe with lots of money and a naked girl in every bedroom.

"The water is beautiful!", the blonde one said loud in the direction of the house, a part Lisbon still couldn't see. She'd have to lean more forward to get a glimpse on the house, but then the Playmates – how she'd decided to call them - would see her.

"Yes", the faked blonde agreed, "thanks for letting us having a little cool down here. Too bad our own pool was broken when it's so hot!" To support her statement, she waved some air with her hand into her face.

Lisbon raised an eyebrow. Of course, the pool was broken.

"Don't you want to join us, Patrick? It really is refreshing!"

"You just want him to take his shirt off", the other one laughed.

"No thank you, ladies", a man answered chuckling.

The agent held her breath for a few seconds. No, this was just a coincidence, this couldn't be! But she knew this voice and she'd recognize it within thousand other ones. No way, no. He was on vacation, he… this was just a coincidence. They'd called him Patrick.

"Oh. My. God", she said aloud in shock and drew the Playmate's attention on herself. Dammit!

Lisbon tried to hide behind the hedge, but her hair got caught up in some twigs so there was no way to get out of sight in time. Even worse, she had to step forward to disentangle her hair. How embarrassing!

"Seems like we have some unexpected audience", one of the girls giggled, while Lisbon still tried to free herself from the twigs.

"Need some help?", a voice next to her asked chuckling. If she didn't believe until now that her former suggestion was right, well here was the proof. Beside her stood none other than Patrick Jane himself.

With a rough pull, she ripped her hair out of the hedge, turning around and shooting him a death glare. Why did she leave her gun in the house? Because right now she felt the urge to shoot someone!

"You!", she shouted angry and pushed him backwards, "You bastard! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Ey!", one of the girls exclaimed, "leave Patrick alone you bitch!"

"Don't you dare to call me a bitch, you…", Lisbon hissed but was stopped when Jane put a hand on her arm. "Don't touch me!"

"Everybody calm down", he said in a calm voice and smiled to the women in the bikinis.

"Patrick, who is this woman? Do you know her?", woman who called her a bitch asked.

"Yes, Ashley, this is…" Jane shot her a glance. Oh right, he didn't knew her undercover name.

"Elizabeth", Lisbon growled angrily.

"Oh hi Elizabeth, nice to meet you. I'm Mandy", the other one said and made a gesture to shake her hand, which Lisbon took rather unwillingly. Oh how she hated artificial friendliness.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know you knew Patrick", Ashley said a little embarrassed, "Shall we go to the pool and sit down?"

"No, I really have no time and I'd like to talk to _Patrick_ in private."

"I think the pool is a good idea", Jane said smiling and led the way. Of course he'd rather stay in company since he could imagine what would happen when Lisbon got to speak to him alone.

She still couldn't believe he'd done that. This was what he'd been up to the whole time, why he didn't try to talk her out of the whole undercover thing with Mancini. This bastard had everything planned! Trying to sabotage their mission, ha!

Lisbon regretted every single thought about Jane in the last 24 hours. How she'd been afraid something was wrong with him, that he'd fall apart once again… Wanting to be home with her team, with him… For what? That he thought he could show up here, in a house right next to theirs, pretending to be… Yeah. What was he pretending to be?

At least one thing she knew. He wouldn't know what hit him after she was ready with him.

The Playmates sat down on two sun loungers, while Jane pointed on a chair right next to them.

"Thank you, but I prefer to stand."

"So… Elizabeth. You're Patrick's new neighbour?", Mandy asked. Somehow she sounded not as interested as she pretended to be.

"It seems so", Lisbon muffled, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"What a coincidence", Ashley laughed, "And how did you guys get to know each other? I mean it doesn't seem like you are _that_ comfortable with each other…"

"We met at work", Lisbon answered when Jane said at the same time, "She's my ex-girlfriend."

"I'm not your girlfriend! I never was your girlfriend and if I was, I would have killed you!", Lisbon screamed, making a fist. She'd like to punch him right there and now!

Jane chuckled and waved it aside: "You must know Liz left me for this guy… Sorry what was his name again?"

"Oh no, I'm not going to play this game, Jane. Cut the crap!", she warned him in her boss voice, but he seemed to enjoy embarrassing her in front of the girls.

"She left you? How could she leave someone like you?" Ashley shot her a meaningful glance and patting Jane's thigh.

"I keep asking myself that", Jane mumbled.

"Where did you meet?" Mandy asked.

Somehow Lisbon had the feeling that they totally forgot her standing right next to them.

"It was on one of those parties, a few years ago. I was a very well known psychic… with my own show and everything." The Playmates made appreciating noises as he went on. "One evening I was invited to this said party and her manager introduced us to each other."

"Manager?" Ashley asked surprised.

"Yes", Jane answered and before Lisbon could cut in, "She's an actress."

"What?!" Lisbon exclaimed.

"You are?" the Playmates asked at once.

"Not a very good one, of course", Jane cut in and stood up, to stand beside her, tapping her shoulder like he was sorry for her bad acting abilities.

"In which movies have you played in?"

_The ones where I kick Jane's ass_, Lisbon thought angrily not able to say something. How dare he to put her in such a position?! Making up stories which could endanger their whole undercover mission, teasing her in front of two brainless idiots and…

"You know, she's a little ashamed of herself for letting a man like me go, but I can't turn back time."

Enough was enough! She grabbed him by his shirt and pushed him backwards. Jane stumbled and fell backwards into the pool, a surprised expression on his face. Well, he didn't count on that!

It splashed, when he fell into the water and dived under, just to come up again a few moments later, gasping for air.

"I would have loved you to show so much input when we were in a relationship", he coughed, rubbing the water out of his face.

Lisbon only rolled her eyes on this statement. He wanted to play a game, well he could have one!

"Yeah, it really broke my heart, letting an arrogant selfish jackass like you go. You know what? I'm glad I broke up with you, because Manc… Mark is a thousand times better than you… especially in bed! Duh!" She didn't know if the last part had been that necessary, but if a woman wanted to insult a man, she should question his sexual abilities.

Jane looked hurt, he looked really hurt, but she didn't care. He was the one who started it… and by the way, the view of him crawling out of the pool looking like a wet poodle was too hilarious.

The playmates looked stunned by what they had just witnessed and didn't dare to say a word.

"Goodbye Jane and mind your own business!" she said and he knew what she meant. Lisbon turned around, going back to the small hole in the hedge where she'd come from, pleased to have won this round and taught him a lesson.

"Lisb… Liz!" Jane shouted behind her, but she didn't turn around, "I'm giving a housewarming party tonight and would be glad, if you would come... please!"

"Patrick, why are you doing this? She threw you into the pool!" Ashley said still shocked about what just happened.

This made Lisbon stop shortly. He seemed serious, but she still was too angry with him to confirm his invitation. "Mark and I'll think about it", she answered instead and slipped through the hedge back into her own garden.

* * *

Mancini was making himself a cup of coffee with the automatic coffee machine, when Lisbon rushed into the kitchen, breathing heavy.

He looked up surprised and didn't hesitate long, but gave her the cup he'd just made. Lisbon took it without a word and gulped it down in less than a few seconds.

"Is everything alright, Teresa?"

"No!" she hissed and put the cup down so fast, that it broke into pieces. "I'm sorry."

"What the hell happened?" Mancini asked concerned now. He leaned against the counter and tried to figure out what happened to his partner.

"I just got to know our neighbour," Lisbon said while putting the broken fragments into the trashcan.

"And I suppose your first meeting didn't go that well the way you look like. What did he do? Does your husband have to tell him to leave him alone?" the FBI agent laughed.

"I suppose so. It's Jane."

Now it was off to Mancini to stare at her with his eyes wide open. What did she just say? No, she couldn't be serious! This was an FBI operation and this clown of a consultant had no right to interfere!

"I'll call my bosses! He can't stay here, ruining our undercover operation. Don't you have him under control at all?" He took his cell phone and tapped a number inside, while Lisbon stared at him angrily.

"You say I don't have my team members under control? Are you kidding me? It's not my fault that he's here! Jane is supposed to be on vacation…"

"Then you should have cancelled his plans, Teresa. I know what he's capable of. One wrong move and we can go back home right away."

"You don't know Jane at all", Lisbon said, not believing that she actually just defended her consultant in front of Mancini. She was mad at him. Mad, mad, mad, but she didn't like the way Gabe talked about him. Yeah, they didn't like each other, but… Lisbon's head shot up when Mancini's call was finally answered by someone.

He explained the situation, nodded a few times and hung up: "They'll see what they can do. This idiot. Where is he? I should go and talk to him."

"No!" Lisbon hissed and stepped into his way, trying to hold the man back from rushing out of the house, "No, Gabe. We have to think about this with clear heads. He's being visited by some neighbours at the moment, so you can't just go over there. I spoke to him; they don't know that he works with the CBI. Jane is pretending to be a psychic who's just tired of working and who bought himself a house to settle down."

Mancini wasn't persuaded at all, but he stopped trying to pass Lisbon. "You said you talked to him? In front of other neighbours? So they know that you know each other?"

She nodded, angrily remembering the story Jane made up. There was no use in hiding this story from Mancini, so the agent gave in and told him the short version about Jane making her his ex-girlfriend. Mancini didn't need to know what else she had said to him, especially not the pool and the bed thing. Like she knew Jane, he'd come back to that.

"You just left?! Why didn't you speak to him in private?"

"What else should I have done, Gabe? I was tired of playing the hysterical ex-girlfriend in front of two half naked pretend-to-be playmates."

"You said there were two women, not that that they were half naked!" Now the man actually grinned while Lisbon shot him an annoyed look.

Of course, if men heard the words women and naked, their brain was suddenly out of order and everything wasn't as bad anymore. Somehow she wondered why Jane let Ashley and Mandy inside his new house anyway. Their pool was out of order, pah! Usually Jane smelled a lie it was within 10 yards.

Furthermore, two blonde bikini girls, seriously? What happened to the Jane who refused a women's offer before she even knew she was thinking about it? Did he plan her to catch him with the girls? No. It was a coincidence that she was outside… he couldn't, could he?

"_There are no such things as coincidence,_ _Lisbon" _ she heard his voice in her head.

Groaning, Lisbon sat down on a chair at the kitchen table, Mancini following her: "Do you want another cup of coffee? Since you smashed your last mug, maybe you should start to drink out of plastic mugs."

If this should have been a joke, Lisbon didn't really feel like faking a laugh. Instead, she rubbed her hands through her face, thinking. They had to find a solution to the Jane problem… but maybe he could help them first!

"He… invited us to his housewarming party tonight", she said. Mancini looked up, waiting for her to go on.

"Maybe we should go."

"This would only show him that we accept his presence here, Teresa. My bosses are taking care of him… or at least trying to."

Lisbon didn't like the way he talked about Jane like he was some disease one had to get rid of. Her consultant had made a mistake and she was not about to forgive him for making fun of her in front of the two women, but…

"We should see this as a chance."

"A chance? For what?" asked Mancini.

"Look, Gabe. We don't know anyone here. We're new and have to socialize with some people if we ever want to find out who El Barón is. Jane's party would be a good start."

Although Mancini didn't look pleased, at least he nodded convinced: "Sounds plausible. But do you think a lot of people will come?"

"I don't know, but I think so. Everyone is suspicious about their new neighbours, especially when they seem to be a kind of famous. This party is their chance to take the first look at him and maybe decide if they want to establish some kind of friendship… or just talk about him behind his back. I guess it's both."

God, she sounded just like Jane…

Mancini eyed her for a short moment, before he agreed: "So you think I should call my bosses and tell them we will need him for tonight before they make him leave Carmel Valley? "

"Yes", Lisbon mumbled but had the feeling that it would be easier said than done to persuade Jane to leave. He had a game in motion, that was for sure and Jane could be like a dog with a bone sometimes. She had to figure out what it was and until then, she'd try to live with the situation, hoping that Jane did not intend to introduce her as his ex-girlfriend to the other neighbours.

"Everything alright, Teresa? You don't seem happy with the situation at all… and it's not just because of Jane."

Lisbon quickly shook her head and stood up: "No, everything's aright, I just… it was an exhausting day. Maybe I should take a nap." Okay when was the last time she had taken a nap in the afternoon? College? She should have asked Jane for a crash course in "how to lie convincingly" before agreeing on an undercover mission.

Mancini didn't look convinced at all, but let her leave without another word.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for reading til here! Feel free to write a review and tell me what you think! Liefs :))


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Huhu :) Here's another chapter! Thank you guys so much for your response to the last one, I really appreaciate every single review! You are great.

Thanks to Nerwen for betaing and being the mean lovely person she always is.

I really hope you like this chapter, so have fun!

* * *

(3)

It was the second time a knock on her door appeared, followed by Mancini's slightly annoyed voice: "You ready, Lisbon?"

Lisbon groaned silently and pulled the towel around her naked body closer: "Not yet. I… uh…"

"Please don't tell me that you don't know what to wear, Teresa."

Lisbon looked from the mirror into the open closets and to her bed, where most of her clothes lay unfolded, like they'd been thrown there in a haste. It was true, she didn't know what to wear to the party, but she felt too embarrassed to tell Mancini.

"Do you need help with the zipper?" he asked amused from outside.

"No, thank you. I'm _almost_ ready." Dammit, she had to get something immediately! She couldn't show up there in a suit like she did at work. This would make her look too much look like the cop she was and since she was a "waitress" and of course the not very successful actress Jane had made out of her, she needed something fitting for the party. T-shirt and jeans? This was a no go; she couldn't wear something like this in this neighbourhood, where even sweating joggers looked like models to her!

"Please, Teresa. You don't want us to show up late there, do you? Whatever it is you're wearing, you look beautiful."

Lisbon looked into the mirror and eyeballed herself from top to bottom. Yes of course, she looked great in a towel with nothing beneath. Considering what Ashley and Mandy wore today at the pool, maybe she wouldn't look much different. Why didn't she go shopping for this damn undercover mission? Gabe had asked her before, but she insisted that she was fine. Where was a Fairy Godmother when she needed one?

Mancini sighed outside and it seemed like he bumped his head against the door: "I'll wait for you downstairs. Remember, you were the one who thought it'd be a good idea to go to the party, not me."

In this moment, the bell downstairs rang.

"I'll go and get it, you better be ready when I come upstairs again."

Lisbon was about to throw something against the door, but she tried to calm herself down. Fine. The only things she had with her for an occasion like this were the red spaghetti top with a little silver glitter on one side and a new pair of jeans. Maybe Jane's guests wouldn't be as critical with her outfit as she thought.

_In your dreams, Teresa, in your dreams_, a voice in her head said. She shouldn't care, she really shouldn't, but if they want to make friends with some of the neighbours, she should try to give herself more like a woman who is married to a man with money than the yoga-pants-at-home wearing cop she was.

"Teresa", Mancini's voice asked from outside the door.

Oh no, not again! "What is it? Who was at the front door? I'll be ready in ten."

"I uh… got something for you."

"Just put it down, I'll get it in a few seconds", Lisbon answered quickly.

"No, you really should come and get it. It's something for you. Please. I know you're still not dressed!"

Now Lisbon started to blush and stepped forward to crack the door open: "What is it? Look, Gabe, I said I got everything for the trip, but honestly I didn't think of the right clothes."

"It's not a problem anymore", he answered and made her step aside, so he could come into the room. In his hands was a big white box with a red ribbon on it.

Before he put the package down onto the overfilled bed, he shot a glace at Lisbon, taking in her long naked legs in the short towel she'd wrapped around her body. Her face reddened a bit more and she gestured to the door, which made him grin.

"Look, Teresa. I knew you had nothing to wear and before you decide to not go with me, I decided to get you this." Mancini opened the ribbon and the carton, to fetch a sea green neck holder dress out of it.

Lisbon's eyes widened when she saw the beautiful piece of clothing and nearly lost her towel. "Gabe, this is beautiful!"

Mancini grinned and handed it over to her. Lisbon didn't hesitate to give him a short kiss on the cheek, turning around and heading to the bathroom with the dress: "Thank you. I'm sorry I lied to you, it was just that…"

"Never mind, Teresa. I'm glad I could make you happy with the dress. I'm sure it looks stunning on you."

The CBI agent smiled and waited, until her colleague had left the room. God this had been embarrassing. Now her partner had to get her something to wear because she didn't bring anything fitting.

But she had to admit, Gabe had been very thoughtful with the dress and everything. Maybe he knew her better than she thought he would.

Usually Lisbon was not the type to accept fancy presents from her co-workers, but in this case she had no choice. Since the dress came from Gabe and not from Jane, she could overlook this fact… although it was a little bit weird.

Smiling, she let the towel slide town her body and stepped inside the dress. The fabric was light and smoothing, it fitted perfectly, like it was just made for her. How the hell did Mancini know her size? Seems like Jane was not the only good guesser she knew. God, she should stop thinking about the blonde idiot who was about to ruin their whole undercover mission!

Lisbon liked the two small pieces of fabric in her neck and turned around to watch herself in the mirror.

Shaking her head, she realized that it was impossible to wear the black bra underneath it, since the deep V-cut showed more skin than she actually intended to. Was this just a coincidence or did Mancini chose the dress because of this fact? Nonsense! Why should he? It's not like he was into her, was he?

Outside, Mancini closed the door to Lisbon's room and took a deep breath. That went well. He pulled a small piece of paper out of his jacket pocket and opened it.

It was a message to Lisbon, written in small bold letters:

_Teresa, stop searching through your closet. I knew you wouldn't bring anything fitting, so please do me a favour and wear this. Don't be stubborn and give it back just because it comes from me. You know you want to wear it and I'm looking forward to seeing you. Yours, Jane _

He read the lines twice, before he tore the card into lots of tiny pieces and threw them into the next trash can. Who did this guy think he was? First he moved in next door and now he wooed Lisbon with a stupid dress? It was a good move to withhold the card from her and tell her the dress was his idea. Hopefully Jane wouldn't make a big deal out of it later that night.

It took Lisbon another ten minutes to finally get ready and when she came down the stairs, Mancini was already waiting for her on one of the leather suits in the hallway right across the fireplace.

She looked absolutely stunning. The dress seemed like it was just made for her. The color and cutting emphasized her body in a positive way, bringing out her lovely green eyes and slim waist.

Lisbon wore her shiny hair open and it falling around her shoulders in lightly waves. On one side, she'd put some strands of hair to the side of her head and fastened them with a lovely small comb. Although her mother's cross was the only piece of jewellery she wore, it was enough to make her look as simply pretty as she was.

"You look great, Mrs. Smith", he said jokingly when she reached the end of the stairs and nearly stumbled over her feet.

"God, these shoes are going to kill me. Why did I put them on again?"

"You'd even look great with bare feet… Do you want to change them again?"

Lisbon shook her head: "I'm not going to walk up the stairs again! It's pure torture. Shall we go? I don't want to be late."

"We already are late, dear," Mancini laughed and laid and arm around her waist to guide her through the front door and the way over to Jane's new residence.

* * *

She hadn't been mistaken at all, Lisbon thought, when she remembered their arrival and seeing a car similar to Jane's in the garage. Really, what had she been thinking anyways? That Jane would let the subject drop and she did not have to worry about him jeopardizing her job?

This little party could help them getting closer to the identity of El Barón or ruin the whole case. It all depended on how Jane would behave.

Lisbon closed her eyes for a second and sent a small prayer upstairs, begging for him not to do anything stupid and blow their cover.

When they arrived at the drive way, they could already hear music and laughter of people.

"Seems like Jane's got a full house tonight," Mancini mumbled and pressed her further to his side while ringing the doorbell. She didn't like him being so possessive of her, but maybe Mancini was just as nervous as she was. If this case went wrong, his job was dangling on a string just like hers.

A woman in a black waitress costume opened the door, smiling cheerfully and asking them to come inside the great hallway.

In comparison to this, their hose looked like the last ramshackle hut. Right in the middle was a great stair, laid out with a red carpet, which parted in the middle and lead up to the second floor in two different directions. Right above them, was a glass roof, through which they could see the last bits of the sunset.

With flowers and potted plants everywhere, it looked more like the entrance of a fancy hotel, than a place where Jane would like to live.

Lisbon just knew his cheap motel room, which she'd visited rarely. Imagining her consultant living in a house like this, with real bedrooms, a kitchen which was not just there to brew some tea and everything else was unthinkable to her. Why did he do this? Why did he undertake the effort of annoying her and spending so much money for nothing but a kick in the ass?

There had to be something else, something she hadn't thought of yet. Jane never did anything without a reason, so she'd be damned, if she wouldn't find it out.

The woman led them through the hallway into the living area, which was filled with chatting people, probably other neighbours and mostly parted into a woman and a man section, who eyed the new arrivals suspiciously.

Although Lisbon already wore a nice dress and high heels, she felt slightly underdressed in front of the women, who – with the exception of a few one – all looked like they won the latest beauty competition. If she'd though Mandy and Ashley were bad… some of them were even worse.

Speak of the devil. The two women recognized her and swapped some meaningful looks, before they whispered something to their friends at the table.

Now Lisbon really felt like the newest attraction in the zoo. Did her hair look bad? Was it the dress? What did they think of her?

"Liz!" someone exclaimed, "I'm so glad you came." Jane showed up in the windowed doorway, which lead to the yard. He looked good, no jacket, an opened vest, wearing a white shirt with rolled up sleeves and two buttons casually opened. His hair was a little tousled, as if someone couldn't have resisted the urge to bury their hands in the blonde curls.

A feeling of relief overcame her and she wanted to go over and greet him, but Mancini stopped her by pressing her farther against his body.

Jane, who couldn't be fooled by Mancini's behavior, shot the FBI agent an annoyed glance and headed over to them.

Meanwhile, Lisbon managed to get rid of Mancini's arm around her waist. "Let me handle him, Gabe," she whispered, "You know he just wants to drive you nuts and we can't use this right now."

"I won't freak out, but if he tries anything…"

"Remember, I'm pretending to be married to you and I take this seriously. Even if he told everybody I was his ex, I'm here with you. We need to do our job." Mancini didn't look convinced at all, so he grabbed her hand, which she squeezed lightly, shooting him a small smile.

The blonde consultant ignored Mancini successfully and reached after Lisbon's hand, to give her a small kiss on its back. She noticed his lips lingering a little longer than necessary on it, so she pulled away blushing.

"You look absolutely stunning, dear. The dress really suits you!"

Lisbon shot Mancini a thankful glance which seemed to irritate Jane a little. "Thanks, Jane. It was a gift from my husband."

The consultant raised an eyebrow: "A gift from your husband you say? Now that's interesting." He narrowed his eyes on Mancini for the first time since he stood by them, a hint of anger in his eyes.

"Jane," Mancini greeted him coldly.

"Oh yes, you," Jane answered kind of amused, "Excuse me what was your name again?"

Lisbon shot Jane a glare, but wasn't sure if Jane had really forgotten Mancini's undercover name or just pretended to, so he could drive him nuts.

"I'm sure you remember Mark, Patrick", she said emphatically, stepping nearer to the FBI agent than necessary.

"Now that you mention it… of course I do! How could I forget the man who stole my girlfriend and ran away with her?"

"My _wife_ went willingly away from you, you egocentric bastard. Who wouldn't? Anyone is better for her than you are."

"I'd really like to return this compliment, since you are…"

"Guys, stop it!" Lisbon exclaimed and stepped between the two wranglers, because people started watching and listening to their argument. It was unbelievable; they acted like two five year olds, fighting over a toy! In this case the so-called "toy" was her and if she couldn't bear the thought of being compared to anyone's property.

She made each man to step back and calm down a little: "Stop behaving like kids. Jane, you invited us to the party, so…"

"Can I have a word with you, Jane? In private please," Mancini grumbled. Jane hesitated a second before he nodded and lead the way out of the living area.

"You stay here," the FBI agent told Lisbon, before she even had the chance to answer back, "Go and talk to the ladies over there. It seems like they're eager to know what's going on here."

She stood stock still, while she watched Jane and Mancini leave the room. He didn't just say that, did he? Just now she recognized that the other guests had become very silent, shooting her awkward glances.

Lisbon smiled awkwardly and headed over to the bar to get herself a drink trying not to listen to the conversations which had just started.

* * *

Jane led Mancini into an office with a deep red carpet and antique furniture. Behind the heavy wooden desk were bookshelves filled with classics from all over the world.

He closed the door behind them and pointed at two small green leather seats in front of a glass table, but Mancini stayed where he was, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Smirking, Jane went over to a cupboard, pouring a little scotch into a crystal glass and heading over to the seats.

"You wanted to talk to me?" he asked, sitting down in a slightly arrogant way and crossing his legs, the glass of scotch in his right hand.

Oh he knew exactly which buttons to push when it came to Mancini. The FBI agent had a hard time staying calm. Grinning, he remembered the one time when he picked a fight with Mancini, his colleague and the team. It was so easy to manipulate people, especially with weak minds like Mancini's.

"You had your fun, Jane, really. It was a surprise to see you here; I may have laughed about it, if it would was funny. Now get your things together and leave Carmel Valley," Mancini said with a tremulous voice.

"Yeah funny, isn't it? The three of us living next door. What a coincidence", Jane pointed out amused.

"Cut the crap and leave!"

"Why should I?" the consultant asked, "I bought this house, I live here. Give me one good reason why I should leave _my _house."

"We don't want you here!" his counterpart hissed.

Jane leaned back in his chair. _"_We_ don't want you here!"_ Well, now they were on the right way to approach the subject this conversation really was about. No one else, but a petite good looking brunette who probably was having a hard time connecting with the other guests in his living room right now. What a shame she was alone right now. He'd love to show her around in his residence.

"And with _"we"_ you mean Agent Lisbon and yourself," he pointed out instead.

It was a slightly unpleasant topic to Mancini, that was for sure. To him, the motives of the FBI agent were clear, but it seemed like Mancini hadn't gotten the hint yet. He could invite Lisbon to a four week luxury trip disguised as an undercover mission or even make her believe he actually had some taste and buy her such a breathtaking dress which originally came from him but Lisbon would never fall for him. At least Jane hoped so.

"This is not about Lisbon, you bastard, don't you dare try to intervene with an FBI undercover mission!"

"Oh please", Jane interrupted him, but Mancini went on.

"I'll make sure this costs you your job, Jane. You think you are so clever, don't you? But honestly? Honestly, you're nothing but an arrogant jackass who likes to destroy the lives of others, especially Teresa's, because you blame yourself for the death of your family. You know what? You deserved it and you won't stay in this house a day longer!"

Jane's face grew dark when Mancini started to talk about his family. No one, no one had the right to talk about them in this manner! It took him a lot to not hurt Mancini badly right here and now!

_Calm down, Patrick, calm down. He's not worth it._ Jane took a sip of scotch while leaning back in his chair. It was not easy suppressing emotions like these when it came to his family, but he was here because of a greater purpose. It was about Lisbon this time and not about his personal revenge.

As much as Mancini's words had hurt him, he couldn't argue with the fact that he tended to hurt Teresa Lisbon, even if he didn't want to.

Jane breathed in and out one more time, before he put on a smile, not intending to go into detail with what Mancini just said about his family. The other man stood stock still, arms crossed in a defensive position.

"How may I ask do you think you can get me out of here without my agreement? Getting a SWAT team which forces me to leave? Well if this is not the right way to blow your own cover, I don't know what is. I bought this house legally and I'm officially on vacation. No judge in the world would let you go through with this."

He emptied his glass and stood up, stepping closer to Mancini. "You know what this all is about. It wouldn't matter to you if it was one of Lisbon's team, it's me. My presence here frightens you."

Mancini's face fell for a second, but he was eager to earn back his neutral expression.

"You thought you could bring Lisbon here because you thought this mission would get you two closer since you have this pathetic little crush on her. Really. Don't you think she wouldn't notice the thing with the dress? Are you really at the bottom of the barrel already? What would she say if I tell her the dress came from me?"

Mancini stepped forward, balling his hands into fists. "Don't you dare…!"

Good. Now he had him right where he wanted to have him.

"Oh come on, it's obvious, even to Lisbon. Don't worry; your secret is safe with me. I will not tell her about the thing with the dress, I promise. You think you can charm her, build a web around her like a spider with its prey. She tries to ignore it, because she's a professional. Sadly, your efforts are strictly for the birds because Lisbon would never fall for a guy like you." Well, this was not the truth completely, but he had to try, hadn't he?

"You think Lisbon's your big chance now after you've been rejected from nearly every other woman in your office." Jane waited for Mancini to confirm his statement and he caught him blushing slightly.

"Now if you would be a little less arrogant and more sensitive, you wouldn't have this problem at all."

Jane took a step back as Mancini stepped closer to him, his face full of anger and rage. "Don't you dare to be the one who gives me dating tips you sorry excuse of a man! You think you are so clever Jane, but you are not!"

"I wouldn't to that Mancini. It won't look good in your file and people here think you're the one who stole my woman. If you hit me right now, it won't leave a good impression."

The FBI agent was a man of fists rather than a man of words and there was not much calm left inside him. From now on Jane had to be a little more careful, if he didn't want to end up with a broken nose or less teeth than he came here.

"Shut up! It's none of your business what's going on between Teresa and me. What you say is not true, and I'll show you off! Listen, I will get Lisbon so into me that she doesn't even know where right or left is after I'm finished with her."

_Okay, this is going into the wrong direction_, Jane thought a little panicked. He wanted to awe Mancini, not pushing him into a battle whether he could get Lisbon or not!

For a second he lost control of his calm facial expression. The worse thing was, that Mancini caught him: "Now who is frightened, eh?"

The FBI agent gloried in success while Jane was more or less shocked. He hadn't counted on this one, but now there was no turning back.

Mancini turned around, grinning like a victor, shooting Jane one last depreciative glance and left the office.

"We'll see about that", Jane mumbled after his new enemy had closed the door, "Don't mess with a conman, Mancini, because you can only lose."

* * *

Lisbon had a hard time to stay calm and not follow Mancini and Jane to wherever they had gone. If it came to a fight, she was sure Jane'd be the one to lose since Gabe was the stronger one of them. On the other hand, Jane could hypnotize him and could cause him some serious brain damage.

She considered that every option was a bad option and she hoped they would try to act like adults for once.

Sighing, she threw back the shot of her Tequila and put it down on the counter in front of her.

"Trouble in paradise, eh?", asked a voice behind her.

The agent shot a look to the side and saw a tall blonde woman stepping next to her. She wore a dark red summer dress and heavy jewellery, a glass of champagne in her hand.

_Just the person I need now_, Lisbon thought annoyed and eyed her counterpart suspiciously.

"May I?" the woman asked, sat her champagne down and got a schnapps glass to pour herself and Lisbon another two shots of tequila. "You seem like you could use them. "

Lisbon was still not persuaded, but took the shot the woman handed her with a short smile and drank it without hesitation.

"I'm Nicole Brenner, but you can call me Nikki", the woman said after placing the glass back onto the counter. Although she did not look that much different from Ashley and Mandy, the little encounter with the tequila made her quite more simpatico to Lisbon.

"Uh… hi Nikki. I'm Elizabeth but… Liz is fine."

Nikki laughed a little and smiled: "I know. You, your husband and Patrick are _the _topic everyone's talking about. You made quite an impression with moving here and turning the gossip around here upside down."

Lisbon blushed a little and hid her face in her hands. "God this is so embarrassing. What do they say?"

"Do you really want to know?" Nikki asked.

"Rather not."

"That's what I thought. Would you like to sit down? I'll make you a really good drink."

The agent nodded and went to the kitchen table which was a little away from the other tables in the living-room, where some heated discussions were made. She didn't doubt Nikki was right and the subject was about Jane's and Mancini's little show from the beginning.

Some people she didn't even know threw her weird glances, first and foremost the playmates from this afternoon, who seemed to have a good time telling their story.

It took a few minutes until Nikki came back and sat a colourful cocktail in front of her. Why was this woman so nice to her? Did she just want to have some information about the made up love triangle thing between her and her colleagues or was she really interested in her.

"Drink, it's my speciality. I call it "_Carmel death_"."

"What an inspiring name", Lisbon said sarcastically bit took a sip from the straw. It tasted sweet and sour at the same time, a little like grapefruit and cream bonbon's, compared with something she couldn't explain and alcohol. A lot of alcohol.

"What's in there?"

"That's my secret. But trust me, two glasses and you're out for the next few hours. I sometimes need it when I have to put up with them", Nikki pointed at the table where Ashley and Mandy were sitting. "It's not that hard to listen to conversations about the newest make-up and fashion trends when your mind is fogged like a Scottish meadow in the morning."

Lisbon laughed, a real laugh for the first time since she was here. "I guess I should not drink it all in one sitting."

"You should definitely not. If I start to bore you out of your mind of course… you're welcome."

"No, no", the agent said quickly, "You're the first _nice_ person I met here. Although I really don't understand why you put up with me."

"Honestly? I just came here so you can tell me what's the deal between you, Patrick and you husband so I can go back to the other's afterwards and share my piece of gossip with them."

Lisbon's eyes widened in shock, but when Nikki started to laugh, she knew she'd been conned.

"Don't believe everything I say, Elizabeth. I wouldn't say I'm not interested in the story, but I came here because you seem lonely and craving a conversation not about beauty and fame. You know, not all of the women who live here are like them." Nikki drank some of her champagne and waited for Lisbon to speak.

Well, the woman did not seem like she lied, so Lisbon sighed and leaned back in her chair: "I'm sorry but that's quite hard to believe."

"I just came here to see what's new. The others didn't want to put up with the stupid part of our neighbourhood. My husband wanted to come, too. He read a lot about Patrick before he disappeared for nearly 10 years."

"Who is your husband?", Lisbon asked.

Nikki pointed to an older man in one of the white leather chairs playing poker. "It's Cole over there. He owns an import and export company in San Diego."

He wasn't the youngest anymore, neither the fittest. His short white hair, sun browned skin and potbelly made him more look like Nikki's grandfather than a suitable husband for the young woman. He wore a white shirt and heavy golden jewellery in form of a watch, rings and a necklace.

"I know what you think", Nikki pointed out before Lisbon even had the chance to say something. Yeah, what did she think? That Nikki was quite the cliché after all? A young woman with a husband twice her age who was just after his money?

"But you're wrong. I'm in love with him. When I met him I didn't even knew he was rich and everything. I cared for him, when he was seriously sick after his first wife died and during his recuperation… we fell in love. He had a tough life behind him already and was just looking for someone who was there for him, just like me. For somereason I have a thing for lost causes. I don't wanna get started about my former relationships."

"I can tell you a thing or two about lost causes", Lisbon muttered, but she had a feeling there was more behind this story than Nikki told her. Well, she couldn't blame her; they knew each other for about ten minutes, rather less.

Nikki shot her a smile and raised her glass: "Let's drink to lost causes!"

After they clinked their glasses and each one took a sip, it was Lisbon's turn to tell a part of her story. Now she could see how good she was in pretending to be someone else.

"There's not much to tell. Mark – my husband – and I moved in next door and I found out Jane was living here, too by coincidence."

"How so?" Nikki asked interested.

Lisbon pointed to the table where Ashley and Mandy were sitting and rolled her eyes: "I heard someone scream and looked through the hedge just to see Ashley and Mandy who were trying to persuade Jane to get into the pool."

"What? Please tell me this is not true, okay? Let me guess they wore…"

"Not much", the agent finished her sentence.

Nikki shook her head, not very shocked by this story. It seemed like she was quite used to the intrusive behaviour of her neighbours. "You have to be careful with the two of them, they're the worst gossipers here. Tell them one secret thing and one hour later, the whole Valley knows about it. Of course if you ever tell someone the truth about them, they try to bring you down."

She saw Lisbon's horrified facial expression and laughed a little: "Don't you worry. Now you know me and I know how to deal with them. That's the good thing if you're friends with me."

The brunette agent didn't know what to think of this. Nikki did not seem like a woman who'd get rough, but she believed that if her husband had such high influence, she could make one's life hell in more than one ways.

It was interesting. Carmel Valley seemed to have two fractions of women. Wither the typical gossipy bitchy one or the one you'd better not get on the bad side with. Somehow Lisbon didn't know which side she preferred. Was there no "normal" side? She was not afraid of anything, but she needed to get on the "right" side, to get more information about the Valley and it's townsfolk for the case.

"Seems like you know everything about everyone here."

Nikki shrugged, emptying her glass: "Kind of. But in comparison to others, I use my knowledge only when it's necessary. Furthermore I don't know everything about everyone. You for example. You still haven't told be about this thing with Patrick and you. He seems nice to me… rather than your husband, if you excuse. He's very impulsive, is he?"

"Yeah he is, but… that's him."

The blonde woman didn't seem satisfied with this answer and Lisbon got the feeling that she'd squeeze her for information like a sponge until she was dry as sand in the desert.

"I heard you left Patrick. Is this true? How'd you meet?"

"It was years ago", she answered trying to remember what Jane told the playmates this afternoon, "I used to be an actress and my manager introduced us to each other on a little party a broadcasting station gave."

"An actress, really? Which movies did you star in?"

"Uh…" God, she hated Jane for this whole actress-crap! "I… Just one or two, it's really nothing important, you wouldn't know them anyways." Her blushing made Nikki suspicious.

"Were you a porn actress?"

"What?!", the agent exclaimed shocked, "No way! Is that what they said to you?" She pointed at the women on the other table.

"No they did not, I was just asking. Don't worry, they just fret about you leaving a guy like Patrick, but on the other hand they are lucky he's single. Let's get back to topic. So you fell head over heel in love with him, after you two met at the party?" Nikki asked whereupon Lisbon shook her head.

"No, not really. He was charming and funny and everything, but it took some time. We were friends, very good friends first and then suddenly it happened. Our friendship took the next step and neither one of us could do something against it."

"Sounds romantic."

"It was", Lisbon whispered a little shocked. Where did that come from? Jane had told the story a little less… emotional. She put a little too much Teresa Lisbon into her character of Elizabeth Smith and this had to change as soon as possible!

"Romantic it was… but exhausting at the same time. You know… Jane likes women and women like him; this is why he sometimes has this quite arrogant appearance. He was consumed by his work, digging himself in it, trying to find a pleasure I couldn't give him. I let him do it and was there to catch him when he needed me, but in the end… it was not enough."

Nikki nodded silently: "You couldn't let him shatter your heart any further without regard for the consequences. Did you ever talk to him about that?"

"No I did not", Lisbon admitted and again she spoke the total truth. She never talked to Jane about it, never. She gave him everything and he just… threw her heart into the dirt and could pick up the pieces every time afterwards. There was no chance to escape.

Him leaving her for six months Vegas had been horrible and she thought she was over it but now…

"When did you meet Mark then?" Nikki asked and ripped her out of her thoughts.

"I quitted my not very successful life as an actress and worked as a waitress in a bar, this was when I met Mark. He was different. It seemed like he really cared for me and for the first time in years I felt like I could be myself again with a man who loved me. It… was like Jane's behaviour pushed me into him. So I broke up with him and that's the end of the story."

Lisbon hoped Nikki got the hint and wouldn't ask her about it any further since there was too much truth in the story, it was way too personal. She had to think about what she'd just said, that was for sure.

"You still have feelings for him", Nikki pointed out.

"Excuse me?" The agent was startled and didn't know what to say.

"I can see it. The way you act around him, the way you speak of him. You still have feelings for Patrick."

Before she even had the chance to contradict her, she saw Nikki look across her into the living-room. "Speak of the devil, Liz. Look who just finished their private conversation and seem to be a little agitated."

They stood up and watched Mancini coming right across her, Jane on his heels. If Jane was angry, he could perfectly hide it behind a mask of calmness, but his eyes gave it away.

She had no time to react at all before Mancini stopped before her, grabbed her and pressed his lips roughly against hers. Lisbon was startled for a second and felt the urge to push him away, but a little voice inside her head reminded her that they pretended to be a married couple. So there was no reason for her, to push her pretend-to-be husband away.

The FBI agent pressed his hand into her neck and brought her a little further to his. When his tongue pressed against her teeth, she finally thought it was time to stop him.

"Ma… Mark", she breathed under a kiss and tried to step back, "Mark!" It was then, when Mancini stopped, a winning expression on his face. Lisbon was too shocked to say something, so she turned around and shot a glance at Jane, who had a really hard time to stay cool. Instead of saying something, he turned around and headed to the French doors which lead to the yard.

"Jane!" Lisbon called, but he didn't stop. She wanted to go after him, but Mancini took her wrist: "Liz… What the hell?!" He jumped forward, turning around.

"What the hell did you do?" Mancini hissed while Nikki tried to suppress her smile, the empty glass of Lisbon's "_Carmel Death_" in her hand.

"I'm so sorry, you were suddenly there when I turned around and then… Oh look at you, your whole back is wet, we should go and clean it off. I'm so, so sorry!"

Mancini had no choice than letting Lisbon's wrist go and following Nikki to the sink, where she got a dishcloth and held it under water, pressing Mancini against the counter.

She blinked to Lisbon, who got the hint and rushed after Jane, trying not to think of the eyes of the other guests who were following her. God, this was worse than any soap opera she's ever watched.

* * *

It was a little chilly outside, but Lisbon didn't mind. She'd have to thank Nikki later for helping her out with the situation. Who the hell did Mancini think he was?! They never spoke about kissing and touching in public and even if they had, she thought he wouldn't lay it on that thick!

"Jane!" she called after him.

He was a few feet away from her and stopped by hearing her voice, right in front of the pool, where they'd first seen each other.

Lisbon rushed near him and laid a hand on his shoulder, wanting him to turn around to her. His face didn't give away any hint of what he was feeling, but Lisbon could tell something was wrong.

"Jane I'm sorry. I had no idea he would kiss me like that in front of everybody." Okay was she really apologizing to him, because she kissed Mancini? It seemed so.

"It's none of my business, Lisbon" he answered back in a strange voice filled with… sadness? She didn't know if she should get angry about it or not. Why did he run away if it didn't matter to him?

"Fine!" the agent answered with a light edge in her voice, turning around with the intention of leaving. This time it was Jane who grabbed her hand and made her stay.

"What?!"

"I'm sorry, Lisbon. I shouldn't have come here" he said with honest eyes.

She was startled for a moment, but came around quickly: "Why did you come then? And what did you talk about with Mancini?"

He couldn't tell her, could he? Jane felt like sitting between chairs with no way out. If he told her Mancini's intentions, his would be totally clear to her but if he didn't tell…

"We had an argument about me staying here."

Lisbon wasn't persuaded at all, she'd thought as much. Would it help to just change the subject? Probably not.

"I got that, but this wasn't everything you two talked about, otherwise Gabe wouldn't have come out there like this and kissed me."

"Well you kissed him back."

She put her hand on her hips: "What else was I supposed to do, may I ask? Push him away? We're a couple if you forgot this fact! People were watching, what would it look like if I push away my husband when he tries to kiss me?"

Jane looked across her into the living-room where people were talking and sometimes throwing some short glances outside to them. She was right. What was she supposed to do if not kiss him back. Although he didn't want Mancini with Lisbon, they still had a mission fulfil and there would be nothing, not even a love affair, which would make Lisbon skip it.

"Jane, I… I don't know why you're here, if you're just doing this to make my life miserable or…"

"Is that what you think? That I came here to make your life miserable?" he asked offended.

"What else am I supposed to think? You're here, you try to make him leave his patience with everything you say."

"I want to protect you Lisbon!" Jane grabbed her hand instead of her wrist and squeezed it lightly. "He's not who you think he is."

"If this is about Red John, then…"

The consultant needed all of his strength to not shake her small body. This was not about Red John; this was about her, no one but her. Why didn't she get this? "No it is not, I promise! He wants you, Lisbon and I can't let this happen because I don't want you to be hurt in the end!"

Lisbon was obviously surprised by his words and shook her head in defence: "Jane, you're misinterpreting all of this. Gabe doesn't want anything from me."

_Yeah, keep on saying this_, her subconscious mind said at the same time. Maybe Gabe wanted a little more from her than her friendship as a colleague. But who said that maybe, _maybe_ she didn't want a little bit more, too?

"They tell me why he always acts like the jealous coward he is when I'm near you, why he kissed you, why he said the dress was his, although it is mine!" Of course he knew the answer to all of this, but he needed to hear it from Lisbon.

Could she be that blind? Or did she want all of this to happen in the end?

"What did you just say?", she asked confused and blinked at him like a deer in a car's lights.

"That he…"

"No, the thing with the dress. This… this dress was _your_ idea?!" The anger in her voice was not a good sign to him, but he tried to shrug it off. What was the matter?

"I think it perfectly suits you, Lisbon. What's the point?"

"What's the point? What's the point?!" she hissed, "Jane, what the hell is wrong with you?! You know what somehow I get the idea it's not Mancini who's jealous but it's you!"

"You bastard!", a voice behind them said and the rest happened so fast that Lisbon had no chance to prevent it.

Mancini rushed towards Jane, giving him a hard blow onto the nose. The consultant cringed and stepped back to get out of Mancini's reach. For the second time this day he didn't count on the pool behind him, so he lost his balance and fell backward.

"Not again!" Jane tried to get hold of Mancini's arm, but the only thing he got was a part of Lisbon's dress.

"Jane!" she screamed while the fabric torn of and he pulled her into the pool with him. A loud splash occurred and both of them dived under.

Gasping for air, they come up again. Lisbon chocked disgusted, since she drank to much of the pool water. She removed wet strains of her hair out of her face and searched for the stairs out of the pool.

Mancini only stood there watching her climb out of the water, while Jane followed hesitantly. The consultant fingered his nose which to his luck, was not broken.

"Don't you say any other word tonight!", she said angered while she stood dripping on the outside, one shoe still on, the other one still bobbling in the water.

"You two… argh! Forget it, forget all of this! I'm out!"

The men watched her getting rid of her single shoe, throwing it into their direction, while she went into the direction of the hedge, looking for the small hole she discovered this afternoon.

Jane and Mancini stood there, watching her leave. "Great work, Jane!"

"Excuse me? It was you who beat me and threw me into the pool!"

Mancini balled his fist once again, but didn't hurt him any further. "Your presence here brings nothing but misfortune to Teresa! I hope you'll leave tomorrow, because I don't want to see your sorry ass around here anymore!"

With this he went after his pretend-to-be-wife and left the yard. Jane himself picked the shoe she threw away up and looked at it. "I will get you back, Teresa. Count on it."

* * *

A/N: I really hope you liked it! Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think! Thanks for reading and have a great new TM episode tonight! I can't wait for it!

Liefs


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hey guys! I'm so sorry for the late update but I was on vacation and I still have a huge cold I'm trying to get rid of for about 3 weeks now!  
This chapter is a little shorter because I wanna start in the morning with the next new chapter, I hope that's alright with you. The next one will be longer, I promise. Wow and 16 reviews? I'm so flashed and thank you all so, so much for your feedback! I really appreciate it and I answer on every reviewer who signed in :) To you guest readers also a huge thank you! This makes me wanna write more and more and more!

Now there's one little thing. I was told in some reviews that some expressions sound a little odd and I apologize for that. English's not my mother tongue and I just learned it for several years in school.  
My lovely beta Nerwen Aldarion tries to make it sound less odd and I'm very thankful to have her in on this. It'd be a lot worse without her ;)  
I hope you enjoy this chapter and have much fun with it!  
Liefs

* * *

(4)

Lisbon stormed into her room, locking the door behind, still dripping all over. Her hair hung in wet streaks from her head while her mascara and make-up were smeared all over her face.

These idiots. These stupid brain dead idiots! How dare they to embarrass her in front of Jane's guests, making her look like a bitch who couldn't decide and toyed with two guys. Not that she'd care what the others thought of her, it was all an act anyway, but she had to play along with the situation now.

What she really wanted to do right now? Punch the hell out of the two men who risked their whole operation by acting like five year olds fighting over a tractor toy.

Right now she wasn't any better, storming inside the house like a teenage girl, almost crying because her ex and current "boyfriend" were fighting over her. Although she was alone in the room and no one had access to her thoughts, she had to make it clear to herself that the thought of Mancini or Jane as her "boyfriend" was just metaphorical.

"It's all an act... a very confusing act", the brunette mumbled.

Sighing, she loosened the band around her neck and stepped out of the wet ripped mess which used to be her dress. A dress, _Jane_ had given her, Jane and not Mancini. Why the hell did he pass it off as his? Was he aware that she'd never have worn it if she'd have known it came from Jane? Or did he just want to get on her good side?

"Teresa!" Mancini called from downstairs and she could hear his steps upon the stairs. Well, she'd have to think about everything what just had happened later.

It didn't take long and there was a careful knock on her door. Now she was glad it wasn't Jane by all means, because she doubted Mancini would dare to pick the lock.

"Teresa, please open up."

"Leave me alone!" she shouted. Okay right now she was really acting like a pissed teenage girl.

Mancini sighed and knocked again, this time trying to open the door but it was locked. "Listen, I'm sorry. I acted like a jerk."

_Well, a fault confessed is half redressed_, Lisbon thought but decided to stay mad at him.

"Yes you did!" she hissed angrily, "You know Jane enjoys to provoke and tease you and you played along! This was totally unprofessional. Why do you think he came here in the first place?"

"I know," the FBI Agent said sheepishly and Lisbon could hear him mumble something else, "I just can tell you I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit him and I apologize for you landing in the pool."

Lisbon nodded and looked into the mirror on the wall. She looked like a dripping poodle and was freezing a little. Quickly, she got a clean fluffy towel from the attached bathroom and wrapped it around her body just in time when Mancini started to talk again.

"I didn't mean to hit him, although he deserved it, it was just... you know I tried to stay in character. How would you react if your supposed to be wife hooked up with some random guy who introduced herself as her ex?"

Alright, now he tried to play the pity card. At least she couldn't argue with the fact that Jane deserved the punch... Maybe for once his nose was really broken.

Although she didn't want to, this thought made Lisbon smile a little. Perhaps today's incident showed him that he wasn't welcome here and would leave in the morning... yeah, if only.

Should she still be mad with her colleague? It wouldn't look good to the outside if they had a huge fight after just moving here. In the end, it wasn't even his fault; it was Jane's, who'd tricked Mancini into freaking out. He knew how the FBI agent would react so Lisbon couldn't stop thinking this was all part of a bigger scheme.

"It still doesn't change the fact that you acted like an idiot", she told him through the door, since he'd gotten quiet, "Now the neighbors have some gossip to share."

The petite brunette cracked a smile and could hear the laughter in her colleague's voice when he said, "Look on the bright side, maybe they'll invite us to their next garden party to see if they get a little bit more real life drama. It seems to me their own life is pretty boring, what do you think?"

"I agree. Somehow I'm glad our visit was so short. I don't know if I could have stayed there much longer."

"Your friend Nikki seemed very nice to me", Mancini answered.

Oh right, Nikki! She totally forgot to tell her goodbye. Damn, their first lead to somewhere and she'd ruined it. Maybe she should try to call her and apologize for her sudden leaving.

"Are we alright, Teresa?" the FBI agent asked hesitantly through the door, "I try to do better, I promise, because I really want to make this work."

_Huh, well now that sounded like we were in a relationship in some kind_, Lisbon thought.

"From now on I'll ignore Jane and stop playing the jealous husband, alright? We can do this without Jane, we'll ignore him and do our own thing, what do you think?"

Lisbon sighed and pumped her head against the door: "Okay." Should she say something to build up his ego? Maybe. "Gabe, we're in this together. Good night."

"Night…"

She listened to his footsteps leaving, but Mancini stayed for about half a minute before he went off to his own room.

* * *

Her personal cell phone buzzed with a message, so she went over to the night table. If it was Jane, she'd throw it out of the window, that was for sure. But no, it was Cho telling her they got a new case in Oakland.

Lisbon would love to be with them now, investigating a normal murder with her normal team and an as always acting strange Jane. He'd be more helpful if he was with them now instead of next door thinking about what to do next to sabotage their mission.

Now she was stuck here for a month, maybe longer. The first 12 hours had been a total mess, how in God's name should she survive four weeks?

Her thumb hung over the call button for a few seconds. She should call them, just to know if they were fine. No, no, Cho could handle this… But perhaps they needed help. Then they would call.

Lisbon resisted the urge to call her second in command and answered his message with a short "Good luck." before tossing her phone on the pillow.

It would do her no good if she still tried to stay in touch with her team. She had to concentrate on the job and the job was here in San Diego, playing Elizabeth Smith.

When her gaze fell on the dress which was still lying on the floor, she tasted a kind of bitterness on her tongue. This whole operation was a mess, a messy mess with mixed up feelings and actions, she couldn't attach. Mancini was jealous of Jane, Jane was not precisely jealous but acted even more like the lunatic he usually was, trying to ruin their whole mission. The question was why.

Why did he do it? Was it some kind of personal pleasure he felt every time he jeopardized her job? Did it turn him on to embarrass her in front of everyone? Probably.

He knew how to get to Mancini, to make him freak out on her costs. At least he deserved the punch he just got. She hoped it hurt. It hurt him so much he couldn't sleep because of all the pain.

But. There was a big but in the back of her head she didn't want to talk about and it had something to do with the dress he sent her. Why would he send her the dress? Because he knew her so well she wouldn't bring anything fitting for such an occasion?

This was so typical Jane. He was the greatest jerk and thought he could make everything better by just sending her a stupid dress. A stupid and very pretty dress, she had to admit, but this didn't matter right now. She'd never have worn it if she'd known it was his.

Which leaded her to the question why Mancini passed it off as his. He'd seemed so proud and happy when she'd thanked him for it, his eyes blinking after she came down the stairs… Not just that. The time he kissed her in Jane's house in front of all the others…

Lisbon touched her lips with her forefinger, imagining his rough lips on hers. This kiss hadn't been the kiss she'd imagined to have with him. Yes, she had thought about it to be honest, but who could blame her? Mancini was an attractive man and it was no crime to think of him in a more intimate way.

Especially since he'd been the one who was very forthcoming the whole time when it came to simple jokes about their "marriage".

Maybe, just maybe he wanted a little more. This thought made her smile. She had no intention of starting something with him while they were still on the job, but afterwards… it would be nice.

As nice as it could be with a blonde consultant that was a pain in her neck who still thought Mancini was a minion from Red John. God this was so annoying.

Lisbon sat up and picked the wet dress up, tossing it into the basin of the bathroom.

He was an idiot. If she wouldn't know it better, she'd say he tried to ruin her for every other man in the world. Could this be true?

"Nonsense!" she mumbled grumpily. Jane's one and only desire was to take revenge on the man who murdered his wife and daughter, nothing else and without regardless of the consequences.

He'd killed, he'd faked a breakdown, and he'd even faked her death in order to get to Red John. Well at least he hadn't killed her for real; he'd trusted her that much. And then he'd told her he loved her and taken it back not 12 hours later.

In the last few year one very sad thought had entered her mind and although she believed it wasn't true, she got the feeling that whatever would happen in the end, she was just collateral damage, nothing else. Something you could dump with a "general apology".

The brunette agent looked up and realized some tears had cleft a way down her cheeks.

She wiped them away with the back of her hand, looking herself straight in the eye. She wouldn't cry over this, not again. Lisbon was done with crying over Jane since he'd abandoned her for six months. There had been a few weeks when she wasn't sure which path their relationship went down, but he'd made his goal very clear to her and she'd live with it. She had to.

Suddenly, she heard a noise coming from outside. It sounded like a low jingle, coming from the window.

Was it a bird, tipping with his beak against the pane? The noise stopped… but there was it again! A low tip… tip… tip… Lisbon went out of the bathroom and to the window, opening the French doors to step onto the small balcony.

It was dark outside, the sun had been long gone while the full moon was rising above the hills of Carmel Valley.

Again, there was a light tap at the window, so Lisbon turned around to see, what it really was. There was no bird in sight, nor an animal. Had it all been an imagination?

"Ouch!" she hissed, when something hard hit her upper arm. She rubbed over the little hurt place carefully, so that her towel wouldn't slip down.

"I'm sorry", a voice said, making her cringe. This voice... no, please, she'd had enough of _him_ today... if it really was him and not some crazy guy spying on her!

"Who is there?!", the petite brunette asked hesitantly and had to suppress a girlish scream when a light was switched on, on a balcony a few yards away from hers with a grinning Jane on it.

This could not be true; this was a nightmare all over. Now even her own room seemed to be a not Jane-free zone anymore!

"What the hell do you think you are doing, Jane?" Lisbon asked angrily now that she knew who disturbed her.

"I need to talk to you, Liz…"

Liz? Oh right, someone could overhear them talking. Lisbon crossed her arms in front of her chest: "But I don't want to talk to _you_. Not ever again, you understand?!"

"Could you listen to me for one, woman?!", Jane asked rather furious now, which made Lisbon stay quiet.

"Then talk. You got one minute."

Jane stepped forward, so she could see his face better in the flat light of his balcony. He seemed concerned and somehow a little nervous, she could tell.

Well, a nervous Jane? This was something.

"One minute? Are you gonna play this game with me?"

"45 seconds", Lisbon answered coolly, leaning against the frame of the French window.

"I didn't want you to fall into the pool. It was an accident."

"Yeah, sure. Your whole life is an accident, Jane. Why did you come here?"

"I told you, I wanted to protect you. We can't trust Mancini. Don't you see..."

"Don't I see what, Jane?", she hissed pissed, "The only thing I see is that you try to sabotage all of _this_ and want to make me lose my job. You come here and turn the whole world upside down as if this is the only thing you can really do."

"But I want to...", he started.

Lisbon shook her head. Today she'd be the one to have the last word in their conversation. "Your minute is you'll excuse me now, instead of some other people, I _have_ a life I don't want to waste with doing cheap imitations of a modern Romeo and Juliet balcony scene."

"Aww", Jane said smiling, "You refer us to Romeo and Juliet? _How silver-sweet sound lovers' tongues by night / Like softest music to attending ears!_"

Why had she said that? Of course he would take this as a hint to make fun of her with stupid Shakespeare quotes!

"Very funny", she answered sarcastically, "do you really believe after everything that happened today I'd have any intention of talking to you again?"  
"_O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art / As glorious to this night, being o'er my head / As is a winged messenger_…", Jane quoted and patted his heart theatrically.

Lisbon rolled her eyes and saw a little black pebble stone lying to her feet: "You threw stones against my window? Are you freaking kidding me?!"

"You wouldn't have picked up if I'd called you", he answered honest.

"Yeah, you're right. Take a guess why. I'll go now and don't you dare to ever thrwo stones against my window again. Good night", she mumbled and turned around, seeing in the reflection of the window that she still wore nothing but her tiny towel.

"It's not like they were rocks, Liz, they were pebble stones from my front yard. Please wait, I wanted to apologize for what happened."

She didn't need to turn around to imagine his toothpaste smile compared with the puppy dog eyes.

"An apology for what, Jane? A general one, like last time?" Although she didn't want to, some of the thought she had a few minutes ago came up again. "I can live without this, thank you."

"The towel suits you. You should wear this more often," he joked, while Lisbon showed him the middle finger and entered her room again.

"Bite me."

She pulled the curtains close, letting accidentally go of the piece of fabric under her arm which had been holding the towel around her body, so it slipped down to the ground.

"Dammit!" Quickly, she pulled the curtains fully closed so she was alone in the more or less now dark room.

* * *

Outside, Jane leaned against the railing with a light smile on the lips and watched the closed door to Lisbon's bedroom. Lisbon would kill him, if she knew he'd seen more of her back than she ever wanted to have him see. Well, maybe it would be fun to tease her with it later.

Although he'd never admit it, her words wounded him. He knew she was hurt, but he never expected the cut in their friendship to be that deep. It was time to gain back her trust and make up for the things he did in the past months, especially since he realizes what a treasure she was to him.

He'd chosen this room to be his bedroom because he knew Lisbon would want a room with a small balcony for some privacy outside. Now that she knew his room was right across hers, maybe their relationship would get better because he had no intention to leave Carmel Valley any time soon. Especially not without Lisbon on his side.

"_Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! / For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night_", he whispered sighing, before stepping back into his own room and went back down to the guests which were still in his living-room chatting and playing poker.

* * *

Lisbon glanced through the curtains to see if he was finally gone, trying to persuade herself that Jane saw nothing. God, her whole head was burning hot now, she felt embarrassed to the ground and hated herself a little.

Grumpily, she stood up, tossing the towel away and slipped into one of her football jerseys she wore for sleeping.

It took less than ten minutes, before her phone buzzed once again. Maybe it was Cho, informing her about the ongoing investigation of the case. No, this would be too fast.

She laid down on her bed, grabbing the phone and looked at the sender of the message. Jane. Who else would bother her right now.

The agent considered to delete the message without reading it. Since it was Jane, she already knew what this was about, but curiosity caught her, so she opened the message, regretting it immediately.

"_Nice view._"

So he'd seen her. Much of her. Parts, she never wanted to see him! For a second she closed her eyes, thinking about if and when yes, what to write back.

"_You're a perv."_

Satisfied, Lisbon laid the phone on the bedside table and pulled the blanket over her body, cuddling into the soft pillows. Well, this bed was nice, much better than the one with the old hard mattress she had at home. At least she'd get a nice good night's sleep... If there wasn't Jane.

Her phone blinked again with a message not half a minute later.

"_Excuse me my dear, but you were the one who let the towel slip and gave me free sight of your backside. I had nothing to do with it_."

Oh how she'd like to rub the damn towel into his face right now!

"_You could have watched away_."

This was a dumb argument and she knew it, but at the moment, she couldn't think of anything better.

"_I had no chance_", came Jane's answer quickly.

Lisbon didn't feel anymore like arguing with him over what and especially how much he saw.

"_Bite me._"

"_You already said this earlier that night_", he teased.

This was enough. Lisbon turned her phone off and stuffed it underneath the pillows. She hated him right now and while thinking about the best method to make Jane's death look like an accident, she fell asleep.

* * *

Although he knew she wouldn't answer on the last one, Jane kept staring on the screen of his phone, imagining Lisbon blushing and tossing her phone away. Oh yes he had so much fun with teasing his little boss and especially making her blush.

If he'd been given a dollar for every time he'd made her blush in the last years, he'd be a millionaire by now. Of course same went for the times she shot him her famous death-glare.

He hadn't seen much, except for her lower back and her perfectly formed buttocks. The image made him shiver a little. She'd dropped the towel by accident, that was for sure but he had to be honest, he didn't mind a bit. Not now, when he knew she was as perfect as he thought she would be…

"And who's the lovely lady who makes you smile, Patrick?"

Jane looked up, a confused expression on his face. Wasn't this the woman he'd seen sitting with Lisbon at the kitchen table before Mancini came and kissed her to prove him he was the one holding the cards at the moment?

The woman in front of him didn't look much different from the others. Dark blonde hair, tall, a short dress and lots of jewelry. The only things, which took him aback, were her mischievous sparkling eyes. His cold reading abilities told him she had some kind of secret, but he wasn't sure what it was.

Her hands looked, like she'd done work before, so she was not born into this high society of rich people. Jane wasn't sure, maybe he was wrong. There seemed to be a lot different about this woman in comparison to the others. It was time to find out.

"Oh hi. Nicole, right?" he asked with the most charming smile on his face.

The woman didn't seem as impressed as Ashley and Mandy this afternoon, when he'd asked them if they wanted to use his pool to cool themselves. Instead Nikki nodded and leaned next to him against the counter, eyes on his phone, where he was still hoping for an answer from Lisbon.

Jane snapped it shut immediately. He didn't want her to see the messages, since he still used his old phone with Lisbon's mobile phone number. He should ask her for her under cover phone later.

Nikki smirked lightly at his gesture and crossed her arms: "You can call me Nikki. I'm impressed you remember my name. Usually people give a house warming party to show off what they have and find people they can talk about money with, but you... are different. To me it seems like you did this to see with whom you've got to deal with."

Jane smiled. She wasn't bad, no, she was really good. He threw this party to get to know the people and find suitable suspects for Lisbon. It'd have been better for their job, if Mancini hadn't thrown him into the pool.

"So…" Nikki started, "You changed out of your wet clothes?"

"They were a little uncomfortable." He knew where she wanted to go with her questions, but he wouldn't give in that easily.

She wanted something from him and Nikki quietly knew how to charm her way with people and he had no doubt she'd done the same with Lisbon. Acting a little different every time she met someone new, trying to get into their good books. A very interesting woman. The question was what was she aiming to achieve with it.

Nikki grinned knowing and decided to change tactic: "This toothpaste smile you've had on your face since you came down has to come from a very special woman. Let me guess…"

Jane raised an eyebrow. It was none of her business, but she still asked, as if she needed to know every little thing which was going on in this neighborhood. A little too forward from the young woman, but an enjoyable game for him.

"Why would you think it was a woman?"

"Because this is the only kind of smile a woman could evoke in a man like you. A special petite brunette woman, who just had a little Tête-à-Tête in the backyard with you, before her husband came and made you take an involuntarily bath."

The blonde woman smirked and took a sip of champagne. She felt so confident of victory.

"And if so?" the consultant answered mystically and leaned a little closer to her, "why would I tell you?"

"Because to me it seems like Liz doesn't know what to think about all of this", she waved her hand randomly through the room, "She's confused and angry."

He had to admit she was very observant when it came to relationships between people. For now he wasn't sure if she was either a good con, or a good guesser.

"What did she tell you?" Jane asked out of curiosity. He'd wondered the whole time why Lisbon wasn't sitting alone at the table but with this woman here.

Nikki laughed quietly and shook her head: "I'm sorry, women's secrets don't want to be heard by men. Especially when they won't give _their_ secrets away."

"Touché."

"So… why did the two of you really break up?"

Jane looked at her thinking. What had Lisbon told her? He couldn't answer this question without knowing if he'd give away something she hadn't told and blow up her cover, especially since Lisbon was one of the worst liars he knew.

"I don't know what she told you," he admitted and pretended to feel a little sad that Nikki knew something he didn't about his former relationship, "We haven't spoken to each other since I woke up one morning and she was gone."

Hopefully he was right in believing Lisbon had told her she was the one to end the relationship.

"Really, Patrick. You should have fought for her, because to me it seems like there still is something between the two of you. You know, it's hard for a woman to be with a man she can't please."

"Is that what she said?!", Jane asked in disbelieve.

"Not in the sexual way I mean", Nikki answered and Jane felt kind of relieved that Lisbon didn't come up with a stupid explanation like their sex was too bad. Their sex would be great!

Alright, this was not something he wanted to think about right now.

"Liz told me she wasn't able to give you the things you were looking for, that you worked so much for something you wanted to achieve and she felt like she wasn't enough. She couldn't stand it anymore to still come second after everything she did for you… Sorry, I guess I've said too much."

Now Nikki felt quite uncomfortable and emptied her champagne in one quick draft.

Jane felt startled. This was what Lisbon had said to her, the reason why they "broke up"? He had the feeling that there was way too much truth in it, because Lisbon wouldn't be able to lie about something like this, no. Not his Lisbon.

Yes he had abandoned her for six months without a life sign although she'd desperately tried to reach him and he hadn't been the best partner since the FBI took Lorelei into custody and forbid him to talk to her. But he'd never thought that Lisbon felt like a third wheel and was about to give him up.

He hated himself for it, hated himself deeply because he'd dropped by one day and turned her whole life upside down so she never had a chance. Jane needed her like the air to breathe and knowing that she felt like this, made him crumble.

Yes, she deserved better than him, someone who was not a complete wreck and carried so much guilt like him.

She was his savior; the only person he could trust and he couldn't lose her, no! Why did he come here in the first place if not to fight for her? Maybe this was why she'd agreed to accompany Mancini. He'd pushed her into it by giving her the feeling it was all about Red John. His whole life was about Red John, damn it!

"Patrick? Is everything alright?" Nikki asked carefully and laid a hand on his shoulder.

No, nothing was "alright", but he couldn't talk to her, couldn't talk to a stranger about this.

Lisbon did everything for him, she was always there to catch him and pull him out of his misery. She was his Achilles' heel and now Red John knew.

Didn't she understand he had to protect her and this whole San Diego thing was a risk for him? If the serial killer found out, something very bad would happen, he was sure of it. But he came here to win her heart, to make up for everything.

Sadly now he realized, there maybe was too much he had to make up. Perhaps she didn't want him anymore; perhaps he'd doomed their friendship forever.

Nevertheless, besides Red John, there was just one thing he wanted and he hadn't realized he wanted it until he thought he'd lost if forever. Lisbon.

Jane flinched when a hand carefully caressed his shoulder. He looked to the site and saw into Nikki's guilty face.

"I shouldn't have told you, I'm sorry. It was just… I saw her with Mark and then I saw her with you… You two are perfect for each other and whatever it is you did, maybe she can forgive you."

The young woman seemed uncomfortable with the whole satiation, so Jane forced himself into giving her a small smile.

"I'm afraid it's a lot more than that, but thank you Nikki."

"Do you still love her?"

Jane avoided her gaze. What should he answer to that question? Yes he did love her, but this was a thing he had to come clear with himself, did he? If Nikki told Lisbon he'd said this, things would get more complicated than they already were.

"It's okay you don't have to answer me, I already know", the blonde woman smiled and patted his arm. She was about to go, when Jane grabbed her wrist.

"Now you know a lot about me but I don't know anything about you. You don't seem to me like you really like all these rich people and if I'm right, you're not from here."

The woman tried to hide her facial expression going a little dark, but Jane caught her into it. Although she was good at hiding emotion she didn't want anyone to see, she couldn't con the conman.

"What's your secret, Nikki?" He let her wrist go free and raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to answer.

"Isn't this the purpose of secrets, to not tell anybody?" She turned around and walked towards a table with some men playing cards.

"I'll find out eventually", Jane called after her.

"I'm sure you do, Patrick", she answered with a wink.

_Well, another challenge to my time here added_, the consultant thought, put a smile on his face and joined his guests.

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it :) Feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think, I'm curious! Liefs


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey guys!

Next chapter ahead! Thank you so much for your reviews to the last one, I love to hear what you think about my stuff! I really appreciate the feedback and this makes me want to write even more!

Special thanks to Nerwen as always :)

Now have fun!

* * *

(5)

Lisbon woke up to the smell of fresh brewed coffee. Arabica blend, if one asked her to guess.

Though she hadn't drunk much yesterday night, she felt a slight headache, which could either have come from Nikki's cocktail mix or simply Jane. The latter was more likely. It was this kind of headache she'd had for more than four months when he'd been on his pretended break-down in Vegas and when he came back.

_How I've missed this_, she thought ironically and closed her eyes again, hoping she could just wish the headache away. Sometimes she wished she could cause Jane all the pain and sleepless nights he cause her. Though he probably wouldn't get any sleep at all in his life then.

Why did he come here? This was the question which repeated itself in her head again and again. Couldn't he just for once let her be? What did – or didn't – she do to deserve such a pain in the ass?

Sighing, she realized it was time to let it go and just ignore him for the rest of the time she was on the job with Mancini, although he would still find some ways to bark his way inside her head.

_Don't think about it. Today's a new day and it seems like at least one person is trying to get back into your good graces._

To her own surprise, she'd slept wonderfully in her new bed with the soft mattress and cuddly blankets.

While resisting the urge to just stay in bed and hope her problems outside would solve themselves, the petite brunette threw her legs over the edge off the bed and stood up, yawning and stretching herself a little.

Mancini's coffee smelled too delicious to be left getting cold anyways.

She tapped in the direction of the window, to let some sunlight and air inside the room, since it had become a little sticky over night. Maybe she should just sleep with a tilted window the next night.

Lisbon pulled the heavy curtains away and blinked a little with the light suddenly filling the darkened room.

It was a wonderful day. The sky was clear blue, not one single cloud to see. The sun had already risen up, but wouldn't be seen on her side of the house until it was afternoon. Not hesitating, Lisbon opened the French window and let some of the fresh summer air inside, filled with the smell of flowers and…

"Good morning, Lisbon. Beautiful day, isn't it?" Jane's voice.

If there was the tiniest bit of wariness in her bones, now it was blown away. She gaped to the other side of the balcony where her consultant sat in a smaller version of a beach chair, reading the newspaper and drinking a cup of steamy hot tea.

Yes, the morning could have been perfect, more than perfect but as always, she hadn't counted on her consultant who seemed to take every chance to annoy the hell out of her – before she had her daily cup of coffee.

Lisbon was too perplex to say anything, so she just stood there, eyes wide open and tried to make herself believe this was a bad dream and she'd wake up right now. Now. NOW!

"You look especially lovely in this rumpled just-out-of-bed style", Jane said and this brought her back to reality.

Lovely? Rumpled? Oh right, she hadn't looked in the mirror yet so her hair probably was a complete mess and her football jersey… God not again!

She blushed and tried to tuck the football jersey down so it wouldn't expose that much of her legs.

"Nothing I haven't seen already, my dear", Jane grinned and took a sip of his tea.

Yeah there were only a few parts of her body left he hadn't seen yet and it would definitely stay that way. But there were a few other sides of her too, Jane could be glad she hadn't shown him yet since she knew he wouldn't come out of it alive.

Lisbon choked her anger down and folded the arms in front of her chest, deciding Jane wasn't worth it anyways. She was done with giving him exposed reactions… giving him _any _reactions to his words or actions.

He'd seen her more than once wearing this thing so she didn't have to be ashamed now.

"What do you want?" the agent asked instead.

Jane put his cup onto the saucer and leaned back in his beach chair, taking in her whole appearance like it had something satisfying.

Now she did feel quite a little uncomfortable.

"I'm just greeting my neighbor good morning. Isn't that what civilized people in this area do?"

"There, you said it. _Civilized _people. An adjective that would never come into my mind when I think of you."

_There_, she thought, _deal with that one!_

Now he grinned and stood up, leaning against the banister: _"I would my horse had the speed of your tongue_."

This made Lisbon roll her eyes; Jane and his stupid quotes! It was time to let it go.

"Well, good day, Jane."

Before he even had the chance to answer, she went inside and closed the door behind her, tilting the French window and pulling the curtains half closed so Jane had no sight into most of her room.

After taking an extremely hot shower to relax her strained nerves – she was sure this was Jane's fault – Lisbon blow-dried her hair, stepped into a pair of Jeans and pulled a red tank top over her head.

Yes, now she looked good enough to go downstairs and meet Mancini.

Although they were supposed to play a couple, she would be wary of showing him more of her private side than he needed to see. Since yesterday and a night she slept over it, the CBI agent was sure Jane was more or less right with Mancini's intentions.

He was… she wouldn't say aggressive, but rather hotheaded when it came to something he wanted. If she believed it or not, this time the object of desire was… her.

Mancini was a good person, but Lisbon wasn't sure what to do right now. Maybe she should just wait either for the other shoe to drop and Mancini make a certain move or leave it as it was. After thinking a little bit about it, maybe it would be fun. Unconventional fun with no emotional attachment.

A little surprised about the development of her thoughts, Lisbon shook her head in disbelieve and headed down the stairs into the kitchen.

Whatever she'd expected, it was not a fully laid table with an extravagant breakfast and her colleague waiting for her with a steaming hot cup of coffee.

The man smiled a little uncertainly before he stepped forward and handed over the mug: "Good morning sleepyhead. I thought you didn't want to get up at all."

"It's just ten o'clock", Lisbon answered and took thankfully a sip of the black liquid when she realized it was black coffee. Black and very strong coffee.

She tried to hide her face in disgust and stepped towards the counter to sweeten her coffee with two spoons of sugar and so much milk it was almost white.

Coffee could be her only aliment for weeks when it was done the right way, but this stuff wasn't drinkable the way Mancini made it. But how could he know? The times when they were out for coffee, she'd always ordered herself and it wasn't like a guy paid that much attention how the woman in question drank her coffee.

Well, Jane did, but this was another thing. Jane knew _everything_. He even got her a special flavor like caramel or hazelnut sometimes, regarding to her mood and when it was very bad and he had a lot to make up, there always was this hint of cinnamon in his "I'm-sorry" cup of coffee with the peace-offering bear claw he brought her.

"I supposed you were some kind of early bird", Mancini admitted and took a seat at the table, "I hope the coffee is okay? I didn't know you drink it with milk and sugar."

"It's fine", Lisbon mumbled and sat down at the opposite side of the table forcing herself to smile. "I just thought it's common for the people who live here to sleep in a little after a rough party last night."

Mancini handed her a little basket filled with toast, croissants and little Italian paninis. "Yeah it was definitely rough. I guess. Teresa, I'm…"

"It's okay, forget it. Just promise me you'll try to stay calm the next time Jane tries to get to you", she said, taking one of the croissants and dipping it into a glass with strawberry jam. Wow, this tasted good.

"Thanks for the breakfast, it's really good. Has all of the stuff already been here or did you get up early to go to the grocery store?"

It was just a suggestion, but she could tell by Mancini's look on his face that she was totally right. Somehow it was sweet of him to do this for her… all part of the plan to get back into her good graces, she supposed but didn't continue to think about it.

"So… what are we up to today? I think it would be good if we could make some progress in getting to know the people around here, wouldn't it?"

Lisbon nodded: "But how are we supposed to do this? We can't just go around the neighborhood and invite ourselves in for tea time."

"It's Sunday, Teresa. Don't you think we'll figure something out?"

It was then, when a phone rang, both of them couldn't assign.

"Is it your phone?" Mancini asked.

"No. Yours?"

The FBI agent shook his head and got up, leaving the kitchen and going into the attached living-room. "I guess we have our first real call from someone in the neighborhood."

"If it's Jane, hang up!" Lisbon called from the kitchen and got silent, as Mancini picked up the phone and greeted the caller with a cheerful "Smith."

Silence followed for a few seconds, until he came back into the kitchen: "Elizabeth? It's for you."

Lisbon looked up, raising an eyebrow suspiciously, but took the phone and answered with a confused: "Hello?"

"_Liz? Hi this is Nikki Brenner. You remember? From yesterday evening, the woman with the deadly cocktail."_

Lisbon stood up and excused herself from the breakfast table, not wanting Mancini to listen to the conversation she was holding with her new "friend".

"Oh hi Nikki. It's nice of you to call… how can I help you?"

The woman on the other side of the line laughed and let out a light snort: _"I knew you'd be suspicious. Don't worry, I didn't call to get information out of you for what happened after you and your ex landed in the pool."_

Although Lisbon didn't want to, she let out a relieved sigh.

"_I had an interesting talk with him myself to be honest, but like I said this wasn't the reason why I called. I was wondering if you'd like to join me and some of my friends to The Grand Del Mar. It's a golf club right around the corner with a very good spa. The people there are doing wonders for your body."_

_A spa_, Lisbon thought a little frightened, she never went to a spa, especially not with some women whose only purpose in life was to look good. The last time she something like this was, when Van Pelt had forced her to finally redeem the gift card of the spa visit Rigsby gave her for her birthday five years ago.

She'd taken the younger agent with her and endured the torture of mud masks and salt water baths without speaking. To her colleague there was "nothing better to relax than this."

God, if she wanted to relax, she'd go to the shooting range, run ten miles or show the big boys in the CBI gym that she was not as small as she seemed to be. Yes, she'd quite made herself a name there. Some of the guys didn't even want to fight with her anymore.

Lisbon would rather beat up one of her colleagues now than decide whether to go to the spa and get herself a little pampered or not.

"Uhm… I don't know, Nikki…"

"_Oh come on, it's gonna be fun. You don't need to have a membership since you know me and my husband owns half of it anyways, so please join us. If you don't like it you can leave right away."_

_Then I can just stay here anyways_, Lisbon thought. On the other hand… She was Mrs. Elizabeth Smith now, not Teresa Lisbon anymore, a woman who just moved to Carmel Valley with her husband and had no friends at all.

Wasn't it common for the women here to spend their free time in occasions like golf clubs and spa's all along? Maybe she should go and if it was just for the sake to make some new contacts and progress in their case.

"_Liz are you still there?"_ Nikki asked concerned

"Yeah sure. Sorry."

"_Look I know my call came a little soon, but I'd love to introduce you to my friends. I can assure you they're not like Mandy and Ashley, if this is what you're afraid about."_

I'm not afraid", Lisbon made clear, "It's just…"

"_Oh, have you anything planned with your husband? I'm sorry, I should have asked. You just moved here and…"_

"What? No… It's okay. I… I'd love to spend the day with you and your friends." Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as she thought at all.

"_Great! I'll pick you up around half past eleven if this is alright with you."_ Nikki sounded all excited now and even Lisbon cracked a small smile.

"I'm looking forward to it", she said.

"_Me, too. I'll see you, Liz"_, Nikki answered and hung up the phone.

The CBI agent stared for a minute at the phone in her hand, before she realized she would be off to spend the day with some new found "friends". Nothing a Teresa Lisbon would do on a Sunday, but a Liz Smith would.

She went back into the kitchen, where Mancini was still eating breakfast, eying her with a questioning look on the face.

"What did she want? Wasn't this the woman you spoke to yesterday?"

"Yeah. Nikki. Uh… she invited me to spend the day at the golf club with her and some of her friends. I agreed because I thought it would be good to get to know some more people and make some progress with the case. What do you think?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to get to know a few more people around here. When will she come and pick us up?"

Lisbon smiled sheepishly and put a strand of her hair behind her ear: "I'm sorry, I think this is a girls day… no men allowed."

Mancini tried to hide his disappointed face while biting in his toast, chewing and thinking.

"I suppose you're right. I have to deal with a few things from the office anyway, so have fun."

"You brought work here?" she asked surprised. If she had known, she could have brought some files, too, but her team – especially Cho – forbid her to smuggle some file cases out. They wanted her to have a nice time and not spend hours over old cases like she usually did when she was at home.

"Sure. I'm the one with the company, remember? I have to make it look like I have at least to work a little for my money my wife likes to spend at the spa with her friends." He laughed cheerfully and drank the rest of his coffee.

She faked a smile and tried to tell herself that her colleague was just disappointed, because he wasn't invited to the day at the golf club.

"You finished here?"

Lisbon nodded and glanced at her inchoate croissant and the cold cup of coffee, which somehow didn't look as good as five minutes ago.

"I'll go upstairs and pack my bag, Nikki will pick me up around half past eleven and I don't know when I'll be back." Without waiting for an answer, Lisbon headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs.

* * *

It was exactly half past eleven, when a red Ferrari cabriolet with white leather seats pulled into the driveway and blew the horn. The woman inside was dressed in a very short summer dress, which had the same color as the car.

Lisbon opened the door and watched her, when she stepped out of said vehicle, wearing white sneakers instead of the high heels she'd supposed. The change in style looked good and made her sexy and sporty at the same time.

Now the CBI agent felt a little underdressed in her black yoga pants and emerald green top which showed the strings of the bikini she was wearing underneath.

"Liz!", Nikki exclaimed excited and hugged her slightly, taking her in from top to bottom, "You look good."

"Yeah, sure." She wasn't able to hide the irony in her voice which made Nikki shot her a short smile.

"Don't worry, I'll change into my comfy clothes later when we're at the spa. To be honest, I just came from there and drove over to pick you up, because my husband and some of his friends and business partners are playing golf over there. It was so boring."

"So I was your excuse?" Lisbon asked grinning.

"Guilty!" Nikki laughed, took the bag next to Lisbon and put it into the trunk. "Come on, the others are already there and super curious about you."

"God, what did you tell them?" the brunette asked a little shocked.

"Just the naughty stuff. No, I'm serious. They're so eager to meet you because it's not often we find women like you around here. Sometimes I think women who move here are forced to have a specific low IQ to get brainwashed and everything. You know, like in the movie, _The Stepford Wives_. Creepy…" The woman made a grimace which made Lisbon laugh a little.

"You didn't tell me your friend was here, honey."

The woman in question flinched at the pet name and forced herself to turn around smiling.

Mancini leaned in the door way, eying the car like it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "Is this the new Spider model?"

Nikki looked up, unimpressed and somehow a little annoyed, too. "Yeah, it was a gift from my husband's business partner to me. Usually I turn such presents down, because the intention behind this is usually as clear as ice, but this time I couldn't resist to take the car. Now are you coming, Liz?"

"Sure."

Lisbon was about to get into the car, when Mancini called her back: "What? No goodbye kiss today?"

The petite brunette rolled her eyes but went back to the front door, to give Mancini a light kiss on the cheek. "See you later…"

Well she didn't count on him grabbing her arm and turning her back to him to give her a passionate kiss on the mouth.

Lisbon was startled and right now she'd like nothing better than push him away, but they had a role to play; The role of a happily married couple. This was why she tried to calm down and let him do.

After a few moments, the FBI agent broke off the kiss and smiled slyly: "Have a nice day, dear."

"I will," Lisbon responded and hurried back to the car.

Nikki sped out of the driveway so fast Lisbon was about to say something until she remembered she wasn't a cop right now. Hell, dare her if she ever said something against Jane's style of driving again!

Although it was warm, the fresh air tousled her hair and was quite cold on her skin, but she didn't ask Nikki to reduce the tempo.

"Don't get me wrong, but you didn't seem to mind spending a day with me instead of with your husband", the blonde woman said.

Lisbon shrugged: "The whole move over here was kind of exhausting for both of us. We're glad to be here, but the whole thing with Jane messed it all up a little. But hey, aren't we supposed to have fun today?"

"Sure! I don't know what my friends have planned, but I think we should start of with spoiling our body and mind before we get to the fun stuff."

The agent was a little surprised by this answer but didn't ask further. So the whole pampering thing did not fell under "the fun stuff". What was "the fun stuff" then? She would see…

* * *

The street up to The Grand Del Mar was palm-lined and designed with white flags. On the right and the left they could see the neatly cut lawn of the golf course and an artificial applied little lake with some ducks and two swans. She could see a few golf caddies rolling over to different holes, while other players were practicing their perfect hit.

"Nice, huh?" Nikki asked grinning and Lisbon nodded.

This whole area reminded her of the one case, where Jane had played golf with the mafia boss Sonny Bataglia and messed it up big time with him to trick the woman into confessing the murder of her husband. This was so Jane… to take it on with the mafia just to solve a case.

The man was too lucky for his own good. One day they would find him in the Sacramento River, drowned, with concrete blocks on his feet.

She remembered that day like it was yesterday. It had been her birthday and later that day, she'd found the little pony in her office. The pony she always wanted to have when she was a little girl. But like most of the kids in the world, she hadn't gotten one from her parents.

Of course Jane would be the one who gave her a pony. What the hell was he thinking? Not that she didn't love good old Buttercup (Jane had suggested King Earl of Grey – as if she'd name _her_ pony after _Jane's_ favorite tea), but it had been a hell of a work to find a nice pet zoo where he could stay and was cared for by good people. She couldn't have put the pony in her apartment by all means!

_I have to go and visit him when this is over_, Lisbon thought smiling.

"The man who brings this smile upon your face must be a very special one", Nikki suggested raising an eyebrow, wanting her to tell her more.

"You have no idea", the CBI agent answered laughing.

"Interesting, you have to tell me more after we had the bloodsucker rejuvenating cure."

"Excuse me?!" Lisbon exclaimed frightened. Standing in front of a murderer who was pointing a gun at him – no problem. Dealing with Jane who messed up big time again – no problem. But a bloodsucker rejuvenating cure?! "Stop the car, I think I'll walk home."

Nikki laughed her head off, patting Lisbon's thigh in a calming manner: "Don't worry, I was just kidding. I did this one time and it was a horrible experience to me, so I won't put you through this."

"That's nice, thank you", the brunette answered ironically.

"Look, we're there!"

Lisbon looked up to concentrate on the building and was stunned to see all the colorful flowers, pillars and ornaments.

The club itself, a very expensive looking great building in Mediterranean style – like mostly all of the buildings in Carmel Valley – and contained also a five star hotel.

She already thought Jane's house looked like a temple, but this thing?

* * *

Nikki parked the car right at the front entrance, handing her keys over to a guy in a red uniform, who got their bags out of the trunk and drove the car away.

"Come on, I think the other's are already waiting for us." Nikki grabbed Lisbon's hand and headed off into the large entrance hall, laid out with a red and golden carpet.

She was right. Two women are waiting on a little suite next to a window, each sipping a cocktail and waiting for their other friends to arrive. To Lisbon's relief they were both wearing comfy jogging suits in pink and baby blue which made them not less styled than they would look without them.

The one in the pink suit had black short cut hair in a bob style, like Lisbon had worn it years ago herself, the other one was a redhead similar to Van Pelt, with a high pigtail and bangs. If she wouldn't know better, the three women she was about to spend the day with looked a little like the woman in the _Charlie's Angels_ movie.

"There you are. We thought you wouldn't show up at all", the redhead smiled and stood up to greet Lisbon with a strong handshake.

"You must be Liz. Nikki's told us about you. You must have made quite the impression on her the first time you met; she doesn't invite people to our little club that easily. I'm Rebecca Aaron."

"Don't listen to her", Nikki said, giving her friend a specific look.

"It's nice to meet you", Lisbon said smiling while the woman with the black hair stood up and stretched herself like she'd been waiting for her and Nikki for hours.

"Hi, I'm Veronica Ellis."

Lisbon didn't know why, but Veronica didn't seem as open-minded as Nikki and Rebecca, so she felt a little at ease while shaking the woman's hand.

"Now that you all know each other, we should start off with having a little fun. First thing we need is one of these precious pick-me-ups. It's not as good as my _Carmel Death_, but we don't want to get drunk too fast, do we?" Nikki pulled Lisbon over to the bar and ordered two cocktails, while the other women sat down in their chairs again.

"Don't mind Veronica. She's always a little suspicious of new people, but that's just her. She'll light up after a while and before you can say knife, you two are best friends."

The agent nodded quickly, trying to save as much information as possible in such short time. This here was a big challenge for her. She had no problem by doing small talk to some people but usually it were lawyers or other people who worked with the law enforcement.

The nearest she came to socializing was at her yoga class and when the old neighbor of hers locked herself out again and she had to call the lock and key service. Eventually one time Jane was with her, so he picked the lock which got him a cup of the finest peppermint tea he'd ever drunk and her a downright tongue-lashing why she hadn't already married this guy.

God this had been one of her most embarrassing moments ever because Jane had taken the opportunity to humiliate her shamelessly in front of the old lady who seemed to enjoy every single minute of it.

* * *

After they had their cocktails, they joined the two other women and drank "to the lady's day". Lisbon had been a little skeptical, since her first meeting with the women of Carmel Valley (Ashley and Mandy) hadn't been the best. But she had to admit, that the three women here weren't nearly as bad.

They seemed educated and intelligent, knew what was going on in the world and had certain opinions on special subjects they wouldn't even have to care about because they were rich.

Nikki was the head of everything, the fun one who loved to talk and entertain but still caught everyone up in listening to what she said.

Veronica seemed to be the reasonable one who was honest if she didn't agree to something. She was still a little short-spoken when it came to Lisbon, but the CBI agent was fine with it.

Rebecca – Becks, as the others called her – was definitely the one who had the most interest in their guest. She kept asking Lisbon questions over questions about her life, which gave Lisbon a hard time to come up with something for the very special questions.

To her luck, they hadn't asked about Jane yet, but this would come, she was sure of it.

They had all finished their cocktails after about half an hour of casual small talk, something Lisbon usually hated to do and made their way over to the spa area, where they changed into their swimwear and fluffy long pink bathrobes.

"Oh god I've missed this", Nikki exclaimed, tugging the bathrobe around her body more tightly.

"Not our problem if you missed last week's meeting", Veronica answered, rolling her eyes at her friend, "Don't pretend like you didn't have your manicure at home."

"I had, but I missed you guys."

"Where have you been?", Lisbon wanted to know, more to take part in the conversation than it really interested her. But when Nikki mentioned Mexico, she cocked her ears.

"My hubby and I went to Mexico, because he had some thing to set straight with his company. Not everything is always "clean" down there, if you know what I mean and we don't want to get into trouble like the Fiddler's did."

"What happened to the Fiddler's?" Now Lisbon got some awkward looks from the three women she was with.

"The Fiddler's had this huge fruit company... "Fiddler's Fresh Fruits"... Does that mean anything to you?", Veronica asked and continued after Lisbon nodded slowly, "They were involved in drug smuggling two years ago. The whole company went down in record time. They lost everything and Fred Fiddler and two of his sons went to jail."

"Such a horrible story", Rebecca exclaimed, "I used talk to Frida Fiddler a lot before they moved out of their house – which is right next to yours, if Nikki informed us right."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow, when Nikki nodded in agreement: "It's Patrick's."

This was interesting. A family who'd lost everything because they were involved into drug smuggling. Had this something to do with "El Baron"? Maybe this was a push into the right direction. She should tell Mancini when she gets home later.

"You have to tell us about this thing going on between you and this guy Patrick one time but now, who's for a chocolate face mask?" Rebecca seemed all excited now and even Lisbon had to admit that she'd listened up when the word chocolate fell. They were here to get pampered, so why not start off with something like this?

If there was one thing Lisbon couldn't ever resist, it was chocolate and fresh fruits. Both combined were a deadly mixture for her.

"Sounds good", the other women agreed and went off to a great room with comfortable divan beds and a little fountain in the middle. The chop of the water created a calming and relaxing atmosphere and combined with the quiet Thai music out of the speakers, it almost felt like they left planet earth and reached some higher next level.

Lisbon tried to feel not too uncomfortable when removing her bathrobe and lying down on the divan bed and a small Asian woman came to introduce herself to her as Yukiko.

She closed her eyes and sighed after Yukiko started to elapse the heavenly smelling warm chocolate all over her face and wondered, if she was allowed to eat it.

One little move with her tongue and she could taste the sweet flavor in her mouth…

Someone grabbed her hand carefully and started manicuring her nails, while another person smeared a creamy, after vanilla smelling cream on her whole body.

"What is this?", the agent asked a little panicked. She still wanted to be able to move herself and not getting embalmed like a mummy.

"This is a special lotion to make your skin soft and look good", Yukiko explained, while the other two women grinned overfriendly.

"Uh… okay…" Lisbon wasn't sure what to think about all of this, but what the hell. This would probably be her last spa treatment in like the next 20 years, so she could enjoy it!

"Just lie down and relax, let us do the magic", Yukiko explained in her heavy accent.

_Yeah this was probably the best idea_, the brunette agent thought and closed her eyes again, listening to the music and the water of the fountain, while the smell of al the liquids and creams and lotions filled her senses.

_Relax_, she told herself, _relax and take deep breaths… in and out. And in… and out… In…_

* * *

"Wake up, Miss", a silent voice whispered next to her ear and Lisbon woke up in shock, trying to grab her gun and point it at the unwelcome disturber of her sleep until she realized, her gun was safely tucked away in her bedside drawer at the house she shared with Mancini.

Right, she was here with some friends and the woman who woke her up, was the one had been manicuring her nails.

"I'm sorry", Lisbon apologized embarrassed.

The woman just smiled and bowed to her, before pointing towards the divan beds with Nikki and the rest, before she thanked her and went away.

It was then when Lisbon realized, except for her little outburst a few seconds ago, her body felt totally relaxed. She smelled like vanilla and could still taste a little chocolate on her lips.

"So, did you like it?", Nikki asked, after she moved over to their places.

Rebecca must have fallen asleep, too, because she could hear a slight snoring from her direction. Veronica was reading a newspaper, while Nikki preferred one of the gossip magazines you could get at every kiosk.

"Yeah", the brunette answered and touched her skin, "Everything feels so soft…"

"Have you never been to a spa treatment before?", Veronica asked skeptical which made Lisbon blush.

"A few times, but nothing was as good as here", Lisbon said quickly. She didn't know why, but somehow she and Veronica didn't get warm with each other.

"So, Liz, do you want to go with us to the salt water bath, or would you like to take a quick swim outside in the pool before Rebecca wakes up?"

Nikki smiled, so Lisbon considered it wouldn't look suspicious for her to skip the salt water bath and go out into the sun.

"I'd like to swim a few rounds for myself, if that's okay with you."

"Sure. We'll come and get you for the massage in about half an hour."

She waved Nikki and Veronica bye, bye, before she left the spa area to grab a towel and head for the pool.

It was super warm outside, almost hot in the burning sun. The pool area resembled to a Caribbean lagoon with the almost turquoise water, the filled sand on the bottom and perfect grown trees.

"Wow", she whispered, trying to hide her amazement. Some of the guests who were lying on the sun loungers almost looked bored, but Lisbon was stunned. If this fake Caribbean flair was that amazing, how would the real Caribbean look like?

How could the people here take every such thing as granted?!

Feeling all the little sand corns under feet, Lisbon went over to an empty sun longer, to put her towel down.

This place was wonderful! Almost empty, silent and breathtaking beautiful. Now she was lucky, because there was only one person in the pool, swimming strong and quick lanes, the body gliding through the water like he was a fish.

Even if she could just see the back of him and the strong muscles of his arms, she couldn't stop thinking the guy was definitely hot.

Smiling, Lisbon went the stairs down into the water, to join the stranger, who'd now reached the side of the pool in one last quick swift and got up to catch a breath.

It was then, when Lisbon realized it was… "Jane?!"

* * *

A/N: Well I guess you finished :D I hope you liked it and would love to hear your thoughts! You'll get more of wet Jane in the next chapter ^^

Liefs


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Happy Easter to all of you! I'm sorry it took me so long for the chapter to write, but first I was on vacation, then my beta was on vacation... but now it's finished and I hope it's worth the wait.

Thank you all for the follows and reviews! I really appreciate them and they encourage me to go on with the writing.

Thanks to my beta Nerwen, too!

Now have fun and I hope you enjoy!

* * *

(6)

She couldn't stop staring. This was the first time she'd seen him without his suit and shirt on and she'd have never thought of him hiding all _this _underneath it!

There was no way in denying it, he looked good. _Very_ good.

She shouldn't think of it and was a little embarrassed, she'd thought of him as "hot" a few seconds ago, because she didn't knew who he was.

Even if she wanted to, Jane's wet body was like a magnet for her eyes. His upper part of the body was rising heavily, while he tried to get his breath under control and his stomach muscles contracted.

Small streamlets of water, who gave his skin a little shimmer in the hot sun, were running down his well shaped back.

_Where the hell did he get those muscles from_, Lisbon thought stunned. Her consultant did nothing but lie on the couch the whole day, thinking or sleeping. It was impossible he could have such a body by doing nothing but that!

Right then he turned around, so Lisbon had a full view of his face and chest. Now she could see he had a pound or two too much in his hips, which made her smile a little. Seemed like Patrick Jane wasn't an Abercrombie and Fitch model at all.

Not that she'd mind. He looked good, much better than she'd imagined.

_Oh God Teresa, stop thinking things like that!_, her head screamed silently so her cheeks started turning red. It wouldn't be that bad, if her belly wouldn't give her this exciting feeling every time he moved a part of his body, be it his arms or just his shoulders.

Last time she'd felt such an excitement while seeing a half naked man had been when Grace had forced her to go with her to a bachelorette party of a colleague of theirs. The stripper there had been hot, but she swore to herself, if any of her colleagues should ever consider getting her a stripper for _any_ occasion, she would kill him or her with her bare hands! Especially when Van Pelt had suggested getting her one if she'd ever have a bachelorette party.

"As if that'd ever happen", she'd answered a little at ease.

_Sometimes_, she thought, _the red head has definitely too much influence on me. _

The brunette agent forced herself to withdraw the eyes from Jane's chest and let them wander up to his face, which turned out to be another mistake. She should have just stayed inside and taken a saltwater bath, because seeing her consultant like this… was her personal hell.

His curls were a wet, tousled mess, sticking to his forehead. He rubbed his hand through his face and hair, to get rid of the last bit of water in his eyes and shook his head so his curls fell around a bit.

Lisbon should go. She should leave the water, grab her towel and go inside before it was too late, because Jane hadn't heard and seen her yet. The problem was, her feet were glued to the ground.

He'd done this on purpose. Somehow he must have found out she was meeting here with her friends – or Nikki had told him she thought about inviting her here tomorrow. With Jane, nothing was ever a coincidence, that was for sure.

So why did he keep messing up her undercover operation like this?! Actually, these thought stared to make her feel more angry than embarrassed about the situation.

There were only two ways to get out of this mess. Talk to him about it and – if necessary – punch him so he finally got the message or leave and hope he wouldn't run into her again. Well, the latter would be easier, since she didn't want to cause a stir right here.

_Then go!_, her mind screamed, but she kept staring at him, not knowing what to say or think.

If she kept standing there, he would see her sooner or later, so just like it was typical for Jane the "sooner" won immediately.

When the consultant took the view over the huge swim area, he looked actually a little surprised to see her standing just a few yards away.

"Liz?" he asked confused.

The woman in question folded her arms in front of her chest and gave him her annoyed-with-Jane-look. Right, they were in public and supposed to call each other by their under cover names. Well at least Jane was. He hadn't bothered to create himself a fake identity and Lisbon hoped this wouldn't be their death sentence when it came to the case. One look at Google or other search engine would blow up their cover.

"Actually it's me, yeah. What a surprise." She tried to put as much sarcasm in her voice as possible and was even more pissed.

"A surprise indeed. What are you doing here?"

He came forward through hip deep the water, to where she was standing. Lisbon took two steps back, resisting the urge to duck him into the water and wait until he drowned. As she thought about it, there were so many possibilities to kill him just right here and let it look like an accident…

"Cut the crap Jane. I want to know what _you_ are doing _here_!"

"To be honest I tried to get out of your way today, since our brief little encounter this morning turned out to be not the best one. Seems like I didn't succeed."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow: "And you think I would believe this? Really, Jane, you've lied better. I know you're here to stalk me and mess up my day. Well thank you, you succeeded!"

Jane shook his head in an annoyed manner: "Believe it or not, Liz. I wanted to get out of your sight today, so I took some of the guys up on the offer to play a little golf with them and have a nice day here."

"You can only play golf here if you're a member of the club!"

Alright, she'd like to kill him for the patronizing smile he gave her now: "I am a member of this club since this morning. What about you? Spending a day with Nikki and her friends?"

"How would you… Never mind." By asking how he'd known about that, she'd already confirmed his suggestion.

Jane grinned charmingly and let himself fall backwards so he swam on his back now. With his arms crossed behind his head, he almost looked like he was enjoying himself. Really enjoying himself

"Are you going to check my body out for the rest of the day or will you actually join me in swimming, like your previous intention?"

Lisbon flushed when she realized she'd been staring at Jane's chest again, so she cleared her throat and let her body glide into the water. A few strokes later and she was next to him, eying him suspiciously. The water reached up to her chest now and covered most of her body. It was a cool refreshment in comparison to the heat of the sun.

"You shouldn't stay in here too long. Like I know you, you didn't use any sun block before coming in here, Liz."

Lisbon stuck her tongue out at him and splashed some water into his face. Jane coughed, because he hadn't count on this and splashed back immediately.

"Ey!" Lisbon screamed, wiping away the water in her face.

"You started it, my dear", Jane chuckled, amused and he watched her coming closer. Lisbon was small, but he didn't doubt she could dunk him into the water if she wanted to. He had to be prepared though he couldn't stop teasing her at all.

"By the way you look especially lovely in this little green piece of nothing", he mumbled appreciative. She did. He had been too confused to take in her full attire, but now he could see the forest green two-piece with golden stings, which made her eyes look bright and even more wonderful than they usually were.

One couldn't compare her to some runway models, but she had her own qualities to make herself the most beautiful woman to him.

When Lisbon blushed because of his further comment on her attire, he let out a small grin: "Now I'm wondering if this all was for my benefit…"

In a swift move, she grabbed his shoulders and tried to unbalance him, by wiping his feet off the bottom with her legs. It would have worked, if Jane hadn't grabbed her hip and pressed her down into the water himself.

He waited for a second before bringing her up again and now she was lying in his arm, coughing the water she'd gulped out. Jane'd caught Lisbon off guard with his sudden move and before she could yell at him, he pushed her down once more.

Oh, her revenge would be bitter sweet, but it was too much fun to stop right now.

Bubbles were coming up from the water and he decided Lisbon had suffered enough. When he brought her up to the air again, she threw her arms around his neck to stop him from ducking her down another time.

"Please!" she coughed, gasping for air, "Please stop."

Jane smiled down at the woman in his arms and moved her body so she could entwine her legs around his torso, while she was still breathing heavily. He held her close to his chest, his arms encircled around her waist.

Her body was smaller than he expected… and so strong! What did she do to her skin? Even if she was in the water, it felt like running his fingers over the finest silk.

It was the first time he touched her bare skin except for her hand or her arm. Yes, he sometimes touched her back "by accident", to guide her through doors, but this…

Jane didn't believe in fate or coincidences, but he was glad Lisbon had somehow managed to find her way here, to be with him. That's how it should be. Both of them together, happy and… oh, it seemed like they had an observer to their little Tête-à-Tête – Lisbon would kill him if she knew he just thought that.

"Don't do anything right now, Lisbon", he whispered, "we're being watched."

She stiffened immediately after she realized in which delicate position she was right now: "Isn't this the reason I _should _move? I'm married, remember?!"

"Shh, woman. One can never be sure if someone can't read lips."

Lisbon tolled her eyes and tried to relax a little into him. Jane had hugged her a few times since they'd started to work together, but they were never _this _close. She could smell the leftovers of his cologne and the strong muscles of his shoulders, while she still had her arms clung around his neck and her lower part of the body was dangerously close to certain limbs of Jane

Realizing Jane was still watching the stranger who observed them, she put her mouth near his ear: "Who is it? Or are you just looking for a reason to keep me here?"

This thought actually made her blush again. Thank god he couldn't see anything. Even he must have felt something right now, because Lisbon could feel a lightly shiver running over his body.

"I'm going to turn around a little bit, so hold still. He sits at the right side of the bar, still in his golf outfit. I think his name is Richard Aaron, he wasn't at the party last night, but he's a friend of Cole Brenner, Nikki's husband. See him?"

Jane nuzzled her neck and turned around playfully so Lisbon could take a quick look at the young man who was sitting at the bar, drinking something which looked like a gin tonic with lemon. Indeed, he was watching the two of them carefully and it was something about his attire, which made Lisbon swallow.

The consultant turned around again and loosened the grip around her waist, so she could get off of him, if she wanted to.

"Do you think he knows?" Lisbon asked.

"I don't know… But I'll find out. He was playing golf with me and some other men this morning. Maybe I should go and talk to him, see if I can find out anything."

"That's a good idea", she mumbled. Although she was still a bit angry with Jane for crashing her day here, she wasn't sure what to think about all of this. It'd felt good to be in his arms, to be hold by him, even if it was just so she could see the man who was watching them.

At least that was what Lisbon liked to believe right now. He'd loosened his grip a while ago, so why was she still clinging to him like a woman to her lover? A shock ran through her bones and she pushed Jane off of her.

He seemed amused for some reason. "Nikki's coming to get you. Maybe you should dunk me down now or yell at me, because secretly you hate me, remember, _Liz_?"

She frowned but agreed. When she tried to dunk Jane this time, she had a walk-over. He didn't try to defend himself, he just let her do. This wasn't nearly as much fun as it would have been if she'd catch him off guard with it, but it was better than nothing.

"Try something like this again and you won't know what hits you!" she yelled, after he came up again.

Jane pretended to have gulped too much water, so he coughed hard and wiped the water out of his face, trying to cover the upcoming smile.

Lisbon hurried out of the water to her sun lounger just in time, since Nikki was already waiting there for her. She eyed her new friend with a suspicious look on her face: "What the hell was that?"

"Jane", Lisbon grumbled pissed, starting to rub herself dry.

"Yeah I got that. What is he doing here? What does he want? Did you just dunk him?" Nikki couldn't hide the grin on her face.

"He followed me here", Lisbon answered truthfully, since she wasn't sure he'd lied to her, "and when I was trying to swim my lanes, he just came inside the water and wanted to _talk_."

"Talk? Just like that?"

"Yes. Just like that. About _us. _As if there is still any _us _after what he did! This man really doesn't get it. He had his chance and he screwed it up. I'm happy now and that's what I told him, so I tried to dunk him, but he dunked me instead. Then he grabbed me and didn't let me go until I kicked him where it hurts most. You came just in time. He's such an idiot!"

Okay the last part was a lie, but what the hell. It felt good to vent a little about Jane, especially because Nikki looked like she could understand her anger.

The agent grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her waist, while Nikki continued to throw him and her awkward glances. "Let's go, I don't want to think about it anymore. What's next, a massage, right? How was your salt water bath?"

Lisbon wanted to get rid of what had just happened between her and her consultant. Although it really wasn't a big deal. She'd clung to him, so no big deal. He'd drowned her, so no big deal. To outsiders, they might have looked like a couple – _big_ deal!

Shaking her head, she grabbed her friends hand and pulled her back inside, where the other two were already waiting for them.

* * *

Jane watched Lisbon and Nikki walk away before stepping out of the pool and grabbing a towel to dry his skin. Not that he needed it, since the sun was so hot the water pearls on his body dried immediately. It was hard to not grin like a fool after what just happened in the pool.  
He didn't believe in coincidences, but meeting Lisbon here and having the opportunity to touch her like he just had was almost one. Now still, they had to be careful. Why were they being watched? Did someone find out about their secret and knew their real identity? Time to find out.

Jane walked casually over to the bar, where a barkeeper in a white polo shirt was giving Richard Aaron another iced gin tonic water.

After sitting down two chairs next to the one where their observer was sitting and ordering an iced lemon tea, he pretended to be exhausted by the heat and the swim.

"Hot, isn't it?" Richard Aaron asked smiling, cheering to Jane with his drink.

The consultant nodded approving and stood up: "Mind if I sit down there?"

"No, of course not, I'd like some company. You must be Patrick Jane. I'm Richard Aaron, a friend of Cole Brenner. We played golf together this morning, if you remember."

Of course Jane remembered, but he pretended to think about it hard before nodding: "Sure. You were the one who did a hole-in-one at hole sixteen. Congratulations."

"Wasn't enough to win the game I'm afraid, but yeah that was me. I watched you playing too. How long have you been playing, you seem like a professional to me."

Jane smiled and waved Richard's suggestion aside. "I'm afraid I'm not. You know, it's all about concentration and a little bit of luck. If you want, I could give you some tips how you can easily beat one as good as Cole Brenner."

The man smiled and took a sip of his water. "So, Patrick, how come a man like you is all alone here?"

Jane waited a few seconds before answering. It was so obvious this man would change the subject to get some more information. He wasn't sure what Richard Aaron's intentions were so far, but he seemed more than a little curious.

"Well, you must be referring to the little incident in the pool", he pointed out immediately. When Richard's eyebrows furrowed, he was sure he hit the mark. "You know who she was?"

"Word gets around, Patrick. Everyone here knows about the two of you."

"I thought so", he sighed, pretending to be annoyed, "It was nothing. What happened between us happened a long time ago and I was too busy with my job to find a new girlfriend. I didn't want to make the same mistake twice."

Sometimes Jane wondered how easy it was to build a castle of lies around himself.

"The job. I know what you mean. My wife, Rebecca, had some problems with accepting it in the first place, too. But she came around since she knew how important the company is to me… and taking her out on vacation helps a little too. Women are easy to please. Give them some money, send them shopping and everything is fine."

The consultant had to pull himself together to not cast an aspersion. If this was how this man treated women, it was no wonder if his wife would leave him sooner or later.

"I think that's a matter of opinion", Jane answered, "What was your company doing again?"

"We produce all different kinds of paper."

"Paper? Well, this is interesting. Copy paper, I guess?" He didn't try to hide a smile in his voice, which seemed to make Richard a little bit uncomfortable.

"That's what most people think, but copy paper is just one of a few things."

"Why so mysterious? Are you producing illegal banknotes?"

Richard laughed lightly: "Well, we could, but that would be against the law. My company has to play by the book, because we have to adhere strictly to the terms of reference. You wouldn't believe me if I told you how many supervisions we have to endure over the year."

"But still very interesting", Jane admitted, emptied the rest of his iced tea and stood up, "It was nice talking to you, Richard, but I'm afraid I have to go. I have an appointment with a cute little masseuse I wouldn't want to miss."

"If you're interested, I would like to invite you to one of your poker nights at my house. Cole said you have a hell of a hand."

"I'd like that. Give me a call." With this, he grabbed his towel and laid it around his shoulders.

This had been more than interesting. When he'd mentioned the faked bank notes, Richard Aaron's face had lost it's mask for one little second, before he'd set up a cheerfully smile again. There was something cooking, that was for sure. Maybe it had to do something with Lisbon's case?

Well, she must be thankful for every information she could get, so he waved the man a quick goodbye, before heading over to the spa area, where he knew Lisbon must be getting her massage right now.

* * *

It had been a long time since Lisbon had had her last massage and right now she couldn't believe how she ever survived it. Her masseur – Piedro – did things close to magic to her back with his great, strong hands. God, this was so good. He did it like no one else could.

She had been a little reluctant first; because the man was exactly her type, tall, black hair, sun browned skin, this little Spanish accent and this smile which could bring an iceberg to melt. But she would be forever thankful because Nikki assigned Piedro to her.

This guy was one she would consider as hot. Maybe, when this case was over, she would ask Van Pelt to join her on a spa visit one time.

Lisbon lay on the massage table, looking down to the bottom of the room since her face was lying in one of those comfortable holes and relishing the massage.

Piedro was no man of great words and it was okay. Sometimes he would ask if it was good the way he did it and she gave him a positive answer. Honestly, she wouldn't even mind if he accidentally went a little lower than just to the towel on her waist.

She had her eyes closed, listening to the low music out of the speakers. Her brain was lulled in bliss and only reported a light feeling of discomfort, when Piedro suddenly stopped massaging her back.

It was then, when she felt a few drops of cold, but heavenly smelling oil getting spread on her shoulders. What did this man to her? His hands wandered upward to her shoulders, pressing softly on the tensed muscles she had because of all the long nights she had to do paperwork in her office.

A moan escaped her by the time Piedro's hands wandered up to her neck.

"Oh God this is good", she whispered and her whole body shivered, "Oh God…"

"I'm not him, but I really do appreciate the title", he answered chuckling.

Lisbon's whole body tensed. No. No, no, no, no, NO! Her body tensed and her head rose up angrily. She was clever enough to not stand up immediately, since her towel only covered her lower backside and Jane had seen enough in the last two days!

"What the…?!"

"Shhh", Jane mumbled and pressed his forefinger on her lips, "Please don't make a scene, otherwise people could hear us. I needed to talk to you in private."

"And you thought disturbing my massage would be the right place and the right time?!" she whispered angrily after removing his finger from her mouth.

"If I remember right, you _did _like my massage skills quite a lot."

"Oh shut up, Jane." Lisbon tried to stand up by pulling her towel around her upper body part, but Jane pressed her down smoothly with one hand.

"Please, Lisbon. I can finish what your masseur started. I don't want to mulct you of your massage. I promise it'll be good."

"Maybe I just don't want you to massage me", Lisbon grunted but lay down again as a sign for him to go on.

Jane smiled cheerfully. Although she pretended she didn't want him to do it, it was obvious she liked the magic his hands could work on her.

When he tried to straighten the towel on her lower backside, because it was indeed lower that it had been before, Lisbon turned her head to the side once again: "I warn you, Jane! One wrong move and I'm going to break your hand!"

"As you wish, milady", he answered, not minding that she didn't want him to straighten her towel. Well at least now he got a better glimpse on her backside. Not that he hadn't seen it already.

There was silence between the two of them, while Jane massaged her back and shoulders and Lisbon tried to enjoy it, although her body was a bit tenser than it had been before. She had to admit he was good and wondered, why he had never offered his services before. Well, probably because she would have rejected him immediately.

This whole undercover case had brought up a switch in their relationship. If it was a good or a bad one, Lisbon couldn't say at this point.

"Where did Piedro go?"

"Oh, was that the guy who massaged you? Well, I gave him a generous tip and pointed out I'd like him to leave the two of us alone…" He could feel the look she was giving him, although she was staring down to the bottom through the hole in the massage table again.

"Yeah, right. Why did I even ask", Lisbon mumbled. "So you wanted to talk to me. Then talk, I don't know how long we have until the others are finished with their treatment."

"You want me to stop?" Jane grinned.

The agent sighed and rolled her eyes: "I never said that."

It was good her face was pointed to the ground and mostly covered by her still damp hair, so he couldn't see her blush.

As much as he annoyed her, why had he to be so damn perfect when it came to all the other things?! She enjoyed the massage, really enjoyed it – Piedro was good, but Jane was the best. Of course she'd never tell him that.

"You're a little feisty today, my dear."

"Who wouldn't be? What was so important, Jane?"

Jane let his hands wander a little lower, but Lisbon didn't say anything. Even better, she seemed to enjoy it. "You remember the man who watched us at the pool? I was right. His name is Richard Aaron."

"Wait, Aaron? One of Nikki's friends name is Rebecca Aaron, she's here, too", Lisbon said pondering.

"Okay now that's even more interesting. I talked to him and I think you should know that he seemed to be hiding something."

"The people here are all hiding something. That's why they're so interested in talking about the lives of others, because so they don't have to talk about their own secrets."

The consultant took a little more time than necessary to let his fingers glide down to her calf, before beginning to massage her left foot. Her toes were painted in a light pink, a color one of the women in the spa area must have chosen, because Lisbon usually was the dark red type, when it came to nail polish.

It was the first time Jane touched her feet. Yes, he had seen them bare one or two times, but never paid them enough attention. She had small and very neat feet, her toes were cute, especially the smallest one.

"Jane?" she asked forcefully.

"Yeah, right. I'm sorry. You have very nice feet, Lisbon." He could literally feel her roll her eyes on him, but she didn't say anything. "Now Mr. Aaron told me he had a company which produced paper. All kinds of papers. I tried to make a joke by asking if he was producing the paper for banknotes, too and he suddenly became a little nervous."

Now Lisbon turned around her head, watching him with sudden interest: "You think he produces counterfeit money?"

"I didn't say that. I just said he became a little nervous, but he was very good at hiding his emotion."

"This would explain, why they found just a lot of false money when the FBI blew the whistle on one of the suspected Mexican drugs deal. Do you think Richard Aaron is El Baron?"

"It would fit", Jane mumbled, taking his time while massaging her feet, "They pay the drugs they get from Mexico with false money and sell them here for real money. This would give them a big win every time."

"What about the arms? They export weapons to Mexico and the US, as long as we can trust the informant."

"I don't know. Maybe they just pay the Mexicans with the false dollars. The question still is _how_ they manage to ship the goods from here to Mexico and back."

It was a good thought and Lisbon had no answer yet. She entwined her foot from Jane's hands and stood up carefully, wrapping her towel around her body quickly so Jane had no chance to see anything. The consultant himself leaned against the massage table, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"It's a good start, Jane. It's more than we had before and we have been here for about two days. We can't say it's true, since there is a lot of speculation included and we have no evidence, but I'll try to get more out of Rebecca, once I have the chance."

He didn't seem pleased and she was startled, when he put a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I want you to be careful, Lisbon. If this man is really involved in arms and drugs deal, who knows if his wife isn't in it, too?"

"Like I said, Jane. We have no evidence. Rebecca is not stupid, she _could _be in on it, but she's not the type for this kind of business."

"One never knows", he mumbled.

"Jane, I still have no idea why you came here and even if it's just to "protect" me… It's very sweet, but I don't need it. I'm a cop, remember? So please… I know this must be kind of hard on you, but do me a favor and stay out of it."

"So you say the information I gave you was not useful?"

"Oh it was. But still… The situation is already awkward enough since people think I'm your ex – and believe me, I haven't even thought about a cruel way to get revenge on you for that."

Jane smirked lightly: "We have to keep the game up, Lisbon. We could gain their trust with this. Like you said before. They want to know the newest gossip, so no one starts to talk about _their_ business. Why shouldn't we use this to our advantage? I tell you, you tell me. It's easy."

"We don't know if this will work. I have to establish a good basis to become and stay one of their _friends_. At least with the information you gave me I know the direction is not as bad as I thought."

"You can't stop me from trying to get into their circle, too, Lisbon."

She shook her head: "I gave up this thought the first time I saw you here. I don't say I think it's good, but you never listen to me anyways, so what's the matter?"

"That's not true. I listen to you all the time. But that doesn't mean I stick to your orders."

"Okay. Then promise me you stay out of trouble this time."

"You know I can't do that."

"Right. You're like a magnet for such kind of things. The others will be ready in a few. Thanks or the massage, Jane… I'll see you." Lisbon smiled a little and went into a little wooden cabin, to change out of the towel and back in her bikini and the bathrobe. When she came back, Jane was gone.

* * *

Against her own thoughts, Jane's assumption shaped up as a quite useful one. After their massage, the women had settled down in the restaurant to eat something and Lisbon was able to ask Rebecca Aaron about her husband's work.

She had to be careful, because especially Veronica seemed still a little suspicious on her. She hadn't talked much and barely took part in their conversation. This woman was, what Lisbon would consider, a hard nut to crack.

Rebecca was really talkative, but not when it came to her husband's business. "It's so boring. He's away most of the time and leaves me at home", she said. This made Lisbon feel a little pity for the young woman, who was in love with a man who had little time for her.

"Almost similar to you, isn't it?" Nikki suggested and against her own will, Lisbon had to talk about her non existent former relationship with Jane _again_.

She hated all those questions, especially the ones concerning their break up.

"But the sex was good, wasn't it?" Rebecca asked, which made Lisbon choke on her drink. "It's an absolutely no-go when men are bad in bed. I wouldn't still be with Richard if the sex wasn't fantastic. Oh sorry, was this question too personal?"

"A little", Nikki answered for Lisbon and gave her friend a head shaking look.

"What?! I thought we were friends. Friends talk about such kind of things, don't they?"

Veronica rolled her eyes, which Lisbon was very thankful for, but the women still eyed her like they were waiting for an answer from her.

"Uh… the sex? Uh…" God, what was she going to tell them? She couldn't imagine having sex with Jane. Well okay she could, but this were thoughts from a dangerous territory in her brain, she _never_ talked about.

"Oh my God, the sex was bad?" Rebecca reasoned shocked.

"What?! No! Uh… it wasn't about the sex… Which was good", the agent added and blushed a little. This was exactly the reason, why she feared to have such a huge amount of female friends. They wanted to know the most private things and Lisbon wasn't the person who liked to talk about that!

Men were so much easier! Get them a beer and talk about the latest football games and everything was fine.

"Stop it, Becks", Veronica said, when Rebecca tried to ask another question, "How about we finally get to the fun stuff? The shooting rang is waiting for us, ladies."

"Shooting rage?" Lisbon asked stunned and happy at the same time. This sounded like music to her ears!

"Yeah. Have you ever been to one?"

The agent was about to say something like "It's my second home", but she reminded herself that she was still playing Elizabeth Smith and not Teresa Lisbon. She wasn't sure what to answer right now, so she shrugged. "A few times when I was a kid and last year, when my husband Mark took me to one… I'm not _that_ good with guns."

Of all the lies Lisbon had been telling in the last few days, this one was probably the biggest.

* * *

They finished their food and drinks and went down to a little parking area, where a golf cart was waiting for them. Nikki got behind the wheel and drove across a part of the golfing area to a free shooting rage.

It had six stands where people could train to shoot either fixed or moving targets. An attendant was giving guns from different caliber away and gave tips to the shooters.

Lisbon chose a simple Glock, similar to the one she had as a service weapon.

"Good weapon, Liz", Nikki remarked, before she took the place next to her and sat up safety glasses and a pair of earmuffs.

"Thanks!" she answered and waited for the attendant to give her a short instruction. Not that she needed one, but Elizabeth Smith.

Lisbon knew she was still being watched by Veronica and even Rebecca had a sudden new interest in her trying to shoot one of the targets. That's why she let the first few shots go anywhere but near the target.

"Man, this is frustrating", she sighed and put the gun down. During her "failures", Nikki collected the poster of the target in. From ten shots, everyone was a strike.

"Wow, this is awesome, Nikki!"

"It's all training", the woman said, "you'll get there, Liz. Try to change the way you're standing. Put your right leg forward and put your body weight on it, too. Your stand will be much calmer then."

The agent accepted the help and was fascinated how good Nikki and the other's were. It seemed like they were training here a lot, since even a woman as petite as Rebecca hit the target every time.

After Lisbon let a few shots go nowhere, she decided it was time to get at least one hit. She watched to her right and left hand side, to see if the others were busy with their own targets and shot her target in the chest.

"I think I got him!" she exclaimed excited, a thing she usually didn't do. If it came to competitions of who were the CBI's best shooters, she was always under the first three, most of the time right after Cho. It was without controversy to that he was their best.

For now Lisbon had to play the amateur who was happy for every hit.

"Great!" Rebecca said grinning, "You shot him in the chest. Want another tip? Pretend the targets to be one of your ex-boyfriends, it helps a lot."

"She's right", Veronica added, "I sometimes pretend it's my ex-husband and if I'm very angry, I also put a picture of his face on the paper target. Those are my best days!"

"Uh… okay", Lisbon mumbled and changed her gun clip. The only real ex-boyfriend she could think of was Greg and in this case, she had been the one to dump him. So it wouldn't be right to pretend it was him. She needed someone annoying, someone she really would like to shoot sometimes.

A smile played about her lips. Nothing easier than that.

Lisbon put her glasses back on and unlocked the gun. Although she tried hard to not let every shot hit the target, it was quite hard to pretend she was a bad shooter right now. Every bullet hit; two in the head, two in the chest and the rest around the painted on body.

"Hell, Liz! That was a good shot!" Nikki grinned approving.

The agent blushed a little: "Uh… thank you. Rebecca's tip helped a lot."

"Really, who did you think of?"

Nikki started laughing, but Lisbon tried to be serious: "I was… I… uh… I was thinking of Jane."

When the others started laughing, Lisbon blushed even more: "Hey, come on, it worked. Almost every shot hit him!"

"Oh if he only knew you have shot his balls", Rebecca laughed and pointed towards the target, "I don't think he would appreciate that. You ever threatened to shoot him? He's got to watch out for you!"

To be honest, imagining Jane's face on the paper target was one of Lisbon's easiest exercises. Every time he pissed someone off and she had to deal with additional paperwork, she'd go to the shooting rage after work to calm down by "shooting" Jane.

"I knew you two had some issues since you dumped him, but I never thought it was that serious", Nikki added, "Well you're a good shot, Liz, honestly. Come to training with us every Sunday and you'll soon get as good as we are."

Lisbon considered the offer for a minute. She had to stay in contact with the women, especially because of what Jane just found out about Rebecca's husband. Staying in contact with them would mean getting in contact with others and sooner or later, this would open new doors for their investigation. She just had to bring Mancini in the game, too.

"If you want me in on your little club…"

"Of course we want", Rebecca said. Nikki grinned and even Veronica nodded approving: "You're okay, Liz. I have to admit I was a little annoyed when Nikki told us you would come and join us today, but you're not like the other women here. I guess we want you in."

To be honest, Lisbon just felt like being accepted by the cool kids in High School. She smiled thankfully: "It sounds good. But I guess I have to talk about it with my husband first. I don't want him to be all alone at home while we…"

"Aww Liz, of course Mike can join us", Nikki said.

"His name is Mark", Lisbon corrected her, but the woman didn't seem to mind.

"Like I said, I think he would be great with Richard, Rebecca's husband. I know how difficult it is to get to know people around here, when you just moved in. But now you have us. Talk to Mike after you got home tonight and you'll see."

She didn't bother to correct her another time, because she knew Nikki didn't like Mancini after all. If she had to guess, she was pro Jane and very eager to set something up between her and him. Another thing, Lisbon had to be careful with.

* * *

It was a little after twelve, when Nikki dropped Lisbon off at her home. Although the day had been one of the funniest days she'd ever had in the last few years, it had been exhausting, too. Could one be exhausted from relaxing? Well, this question was an entirely good one, because she felt more tired than anything.

They have had a nice dinner with Nikki's and Rebecca's husband and a few drinks afterwards. Lisbon wasn't one to get drunk easy, but she felt a little tipsy, when she giggled Nikki goodbye and almost stumbled over her own feet. "Oops."

"Careful! I don't want to drive to the hospital so late at night. See you soon, Liz! I'll call you."

"Bye… and thanks", she grinned, before heading towards the front door.

Jane's car stood outside in the driveway at the neighbor house, so he must have been home already. Thank got she didn't run into him another time after the incident in the pool. Her greatest fear was him joining them for dinner, but Cole Brenner, Nikki's husband had explained he'd refused the invitation politely.

While Lisbon was looking for her keys in the bad, she recognized her mobile phone blinking. Damn, she totally forgot this stupid thing over the day! It hit her like a pail full of iced water. Mancini. Oh god! He'd tried to call her over six times in the last three hours. What if something happened, what, if…

Suddenly, her tipsiness was gone, so she ran to the front door and quickly opened it with her keys. "Gabe?" she called worried. No answer.

She threw her bad on one of the couches in the entrance and closed the door. There was light coming from the kitchen.

"Gabe, are you here?"

Lisbon the smell hit her, before she even arrived in the kitchen. It smelled… good! Like haunch of venison with a red wine sauce. "Oh my god", she whispered.

The kitchen table was set ready for dinner, a half burnt down candle in the middle and a single red rose in a vase on the seat where she sat this morning. Mancini was sitting upright in a chair, head bent back and eyes closed. He fell asleep while waiting for her to come home and have dinner.

The agent felt sorry for him immediately and had a bad conscience for not telling him how long she'd stay at the golf club with her friends.

"Gabe", she whispered, stepped over and tugged him lightly on the shoulder, "Gabe, wake up."

Mancini opened his eyes sleepily, being a bit surprised to see her there.

"Teresa? What… You're… What time is it?"

"It's almost quarter past twelve. Listen, I'm so sorry… I… My phone was in my back and I forgot to check it! You cooked for me!"

The FBI agent stood up to stretch his tired bones. The position he was sleeping in must have been quite uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I wanted to surprise you."

"This is so sweet", Lisbon mumbled and cupped his cheek with her hand, "and I'm so sorry, really. You did all this and I…"

"No, don't you worry, it's okay, I was just uh… We can eat it tomorrow, if you want."

"Of course I want." God she felt bad right now. First the breakfast, now the dinner… It had been a long time since a man had done such things for her. He must have waited the whole evening for her to come home and she'd just…

"I'll go to bed. Had a good day, Teresa?"

"Yes. We made progress in the case, but I'm going to tell you tomorrow, I'm tired, too."

"We?" Mancini asked, although he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, Jane was there, too. I didn't know though." Hell, why did she feel like she cheated on Mancini right now? This was stupid, so stupid! It wasn't like they were in a relationship or something, although people would exactly think so if they would see the situation as it was right now.

"I'm sorry… I'll… I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you for the dinner, even if I wasn't here. This really _is_ a sweet gesture from you." Lisbon couldn't stop herself but giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as a "sorry" and "thank you" together, before hurrying up the stairs and into her bedroom.

What a day.

* * *

A/N: So... I guess a few of you feel ALMOST sorry for Mancini now :D I guess I did too a little while writing it. I hope you weren't diappointed in wet Jane and the little pool incident ;) Now, I'm really curious to what you think about the chapter, so feel free to leave a review :)

Thank you for your reading and support!

Liefs


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Hey guys!

No, your eyes are not betraying you, this is a new chapter and my story is still alive!  
I'm so sorry for the late update, but I was on vacation and had writer's block and somehow the chapter got way too long, so I had to split it up. So this is the first half ! Don't worry, the second half will be up on Saturday morning or Monday evening, it's almost finished^^

Thank you all so much for your support and for reviewing my story! I hope you enjoy reading the chapter, as much as I did writing it! Now have fun!

* * *

(7)

The early morning sun was shining down on Lisbon's head as she ran across the lonely beach with nothing but the sound of the waves and sea-gulls as a company. It wasn't as hot as it would be in a few hours yet, but the gentle breeze blowing over the sand dunes was a welcome refreshment for her heated body.

She'd started the running in the morning about two days ago, to relax her mind a little from the whole undercover thing. It was good to have some time alone, apart from Mancini, Jane and even the girls she'd spent some time with over the last week, because it was exhausting to play the role of "Liz Smith" all the time, even if she was alone with Mancini.

Over a week elapsed since the agents moved in into the fancy house with the big garden and a pool in Carmel Valley and Lisbon still wasn't sure what to think of everything. She'd always thought undercover was more fun – and it was fun in a way – but it could be quite depressing sometimes.

She had to pretend to be someone else, couldn't do the things she usually did and what bothered her most was the fact that she missed work. Lisbon missed her team, the cases and even the late night shifts she laid in because of too much paperwork. Cho hadn't called her to inform her about a new case, which of course wasn't necessary, but she still wanted to know if everything was okay with them.

Well, at least she didn't have to worry Jane would mess things in Sacramento up. He did a great job by messing their undercover case up in a way. God this damn case.

Somehow she wished she'd have never agreed to accompany Mancini at all. Except from the information Jane gave her at the day in the spa about Rebecca Aaron's husband, they hadn't made any more progress yet.

_There has to be more_, Lisbon thought. They needed more proof to prove Richard Aaron was involved in the drugs and arms deal to get a warrant for his company or something. Until now, they only had Jane's and her own suggestions and it was too risky to give up their cover just yet.

Mancini had tried to persuade her undercover cases needed their time, but she wanted the case to be solved as soon as possible. Richard Aaron was their main suspect right now, but the agent knew he wasn't in it alone; he needed at least one accomplice to ship the drugs and arms to Mexico and back. If there were as many checking's as he'd told Jane, it must be very difficult to keep his illegal actions under the radar.

Hell, this case was driving her nuts. They only had 3 weeks plus two if necessary left and they had not gotten anywhere. How were they supposed to get into the game without so much as an informant who introduced them to some "insiders"?

Jane had called it "sloppy work" by the FBI and although Lisbon wasn't into agreeing with her consultant, he was right.

The brunette stopped to take a much needed break after running almost seven miles in the heavy beach sand, which was more exhausting than running on a sidewalk or something. Her car was parked on a small parking lot for beach visitors right behind the next dune, so she decided to sit down for a few minutes and enjoy the sight of the huge ocean in front of her.

As a child, she'd always wanted to live at the ocean and although Chicago was right next to Lake Michigan, it wasn't the same to her. She loved the ocean, loved its sound, the salty smell, the beaches… Maybe one day after she was forced to retire work because she was just too old for the job, she'd have a little house somewhere near the coast. But this was just one of her secret dreams, she'd never tell anyone.

Sighing, Lisbon let herself fall down into the sand and put up her knees, only to rest her chin on them. This was better; this was why she liked running. It took her far away from reality, so she didn't have to deal with the problems which would be waiting for her at her new "home".

Since she'd missed the dinner he'd prepared for her after she came home from the spa trip, Mancini's behavior had changed a little. It was tenser between them, although he'd said it was okay.

Lisbon had felt guilty and promised to make it up to him, which made his bad mood a little better. Sometimes the man was like an underbred child, who immediately started to be stubborn if he didn't get what he wanted.

Fate was with her for once. They'd be going out tonight to eat out at a restaurant at the San Diego harbor since they got a tip from one of Mancini's informants who'd suggested they should take a closer look at the warehouses at the industrial part of the harbor.

To Lisbon, this was the kind of "make up" she had in mind when he'd asked her if she had time tonight. She even cancelled a meeting with Nikki and Veronica at Nikki's but only because she hated to deal with things not going well between them while they were on the job.

_Gabe was a very difficult man_, Lisbon thought. Her mother always told her, you'd get to know the real side of a man if you started living with him and she was right. He still was nice to her, but he was hotheaded and also a little too arrogant for her taste.

Who ever suggested him to do a good job by going undercover made a bad choice. It wasn't that he wasn't good keeping up the act with them being a married couple; he was simply not flexible enough when it came to making friends with the locals.

Nikki had arranged a meeting with her husband and a few friends of him who invited Mancini to play golf with them and when he came back in the evening, he'd told Lisbon the men were all selfish snobs with nothing but money as topic of conversation. After that meeting, he hadn't been invited to join them once again and it bothered Lisbon.

She couldn't do it alone, she needed him inside the circle of the locals, needed him to be as much accepted as she was, especially since her friends started to question her choice in men. If she were them, she'd be a little suspicious, too.

Nevertheless, they were partners in this case, they were supposed to trust each other and they had to change something in their behavior… since men were men, she had to start.

The only thing bothering her even more than the relationship and behavior of her "pretend-to-be-husband", was a certain blonde neighbor, known as her annoying consultant who in opposite to Mancini got along with the locals in a brilliant manner.

Everywhere she came, people were talking about him, about his kindness, humor and of course his looks. Even Veronica, who usually never talked about men, developed a soft spot for Jane which Lisbon found more than annoying.

She knew what he was doing. After the coincidental meeting at the golf club about a week ago, he hadn't made any other attempt to stick his nose into her business, he was mining his own and sooner or later, he'd get in trouble for it for sure. If Jane was quiet, it usually was the calm before the storm.

Eventually this was another thing which was bothering Mancini. He could be jealous, because Jane seemed to get along so well and he felt like an outsider…

Lisbon let herself fall backwards into the sand and closed her eyes.

There were too many things her brain had to deal with at the moment and she felt mentally exhausted. Her worries about the case, Mancini, Jane… Maybe she should go over and check on Jane some time later the day to see what he was up to. It was unusual for him to stay away from her for so long. Yeah, this would be a good idea… Not because she missed him, but because she wanted to know what was going on with him. Perhaps he got new information about the case?

The more she thought about it, the more she was sure they should consider letting Jane in on the case. His abilities could be helpful, especially since they had no clues at all. Another thing she had to talk over with Mancini.

All of a sudden a shadow appeared above her face and dispelled the warming sun. A little annoyed, the agent opened her eyes and caught side of Patrick Jane who was staring down at her, a weird expression on his face she couldn't interpret before he set up his usual cheerfully toothpaste grin. Speak of the devil.

"Jane", she mumbled surprised and sat up, weeping the sand off her arms and back, "what are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the sight", he answered smiling, but kept still looking at her instead of the ocean.

_God, one should understand this crazy man!_ Lisbon thought rolling her eyes and settling them on the water.

"We haven't seen each other much lately", Jane pointed out.

"Well, I guess we both were kind of busy by getting into the local society. You did a good job on it, as much as I've heard."

"Now Lisbon, was this a compliment?" He stepped beside her but didn't sit down in the sand, instead watching the whitecaps.

The CBI agent didn't answer, but gave him an annoyed look, which after a few seconds turned into a look of surprise, after she took in the sight of her consultant standing beside her. "Jane? Is this what I think it is?" She asked taken aback.

Jane shot her a mischievous grin and nodded: "Yes, this is a wetsuit. I didn't come here to stalk you as you might have thought first, my dear. I didn't know I'd meet you here on this beautiful morning, I came here to surf." He pointed at the white surfboard lying beside him. "The waves are great at this spot and even better in the morning or late in the evening. What?"

Lisbon was looking at him as if her eyes were popping out her head: "You.?Surf?"

The consultant shrugged and picked up his board: "Yeah, what's the big deal? When I lived in Malibu, I went surfing all the time. It's fun and exciting."

"But… but… the only sporty thing I've seen you doing is marathon like naps on your couch", she stuttered.

"Ouch Lisbon, you wound me. But if you want to, you can stay and watch so I can convince you otherwise."

"Uh… I… I don't know. I have to get back home. We have a lot to do and since we're dining outside tonight, we…" she mumbled hesitantly and saw Jane's face fall, "Can… can I give you a rain check on this? I promise"

"I'll take you by the word, Lisbon", he said, grabbed his board and stepped towards the sea.

Lisbon watched him jump on his board and paddle out into the ocean, sometimes diving down to not be pushed back by a wave. She shouldn't be here watching him, no, she really shouldn't although deep down she wanted to.

Reluctantly, the agent stood up and threw her consultant a last glance right before he stilled the board and stood up to catch a rather big wave to ride on. He looked good on the board, happy, an expression she rarely saw on his face.

It was like he belonged there and so did she. If one had told her a week ago she'd be at a beach watching Patrick Jane surfing, she'd have laughed her head off, but right now…

Suddenly there was a feeling in her stomach she couldn't explain and a lump was forming in her throat. Nothing she honestly wanted to think about right now. Next time she'd stay, she'd promised him. She couldn't just now.

* * *

He paddled. He paddled forward and hoped to be right in time for the big wave he felt would arrive him in just seconds. It was important to wait for the perfect moment to get up on the board and ride it like a stubborn horse.

"Now", Jane whispered, when he felt the wave coming behind him. He got up in a quick move and letting the board glide through the water like it was fluid silk.

The waves were nice. Not too big like on the coasts in Hawaii or Australia, but fun. It'd been some time since he rode the waves like a maniac, but he was glad to see he was still as good as he'd always been. Surfing was like riding a bike; you never forget how to do it.

Jane got down to turn his boat, when another wave crashed into the one he was riding and threw him off balance. Before he could prevent it, he dived down into the water, the board tugging at his foot.

Coughing and grinning at the same time, he dived up again, paddling for his board. Hopefully Lisbon wouldn't laugh at him now.

Turning around to the beach, to see where the woman in question was, he realized the spot where she'd been before was empty. She was gone, just like she'd told him. Still, he'd hoped she'd be curious enough to stay at least a few minutes! Why did he feel angry about the fact that she left?

Jane climbed back on his board, to paddle in the direction of the next wave.

After taking a long walk on the beach yesterday afternoon, he'd stopped to settle on a low dune to watch the sun go down. That was when he'd looked out onto the ocean and felt the urge to be free. Free of sorrows; free of doubts, free of thoughts, only one little wish in mind. Having a certain petite brunette sitting by his side and enjoying the little bit of peace with her together.

The thought to go surfing occurred to him when he came back home later that day and seen the neighbors from across the street loading their surf equipment into the garage.

Now meeting Lisbon this morning was a welcome coincidence he hadn't thought of until it happened. At first he'd been slightly stunned to see her small figure lying in the sand, enjoying the early morning sun and wasn't quite sure if he should just walk by or disturb her little moment of peace. Well, the little annoying consultant part inside him won the battle.

He hadn't seen her since the meeting in the spa which kind of upset him since they were neighbors and _should_ see each other randomly. It had been hard.

At the CBI he got to see her every day except for the weekend. That was why he hated Saturdays with no case to jeep them busy. Saturday was too far away from Monday and his chance to see Lisbon again. After he'd spent six months in Vegas, he knew every second with her, even if it consisted of fighting, was precious.

A wave came and ripped him out of his little world of thoughts about Lisbon and he had to hurry to catch the right moment to get not thrown down the board another time. He did a bottom turn to get back on top of the wave and rode until the end of the wave, where he let himself slip down into the water to paddle for the next one again.

Didn't he come here to get to Lisbon? To make her feel what he felt deep down? Although he wasn't exactly sure what it was what he felt – well, love came quite close – he couldn't stand to see her being with an idiot like Mancini and he'd made this very clear to the FBI agent.

There was still this "challenge" between them because he knew Mancini wouldn't give up on Lisbon either. He'd been all right with the suggestions he'd asked Lisbon to accompany him not because of her abilities as an agent, but because he had a personal interest in her.

The question was how Lisbon felt with all of this. There was no way in denying she hadn't been affected by their little swimming and massaging encounter. He could read her like a book 90 percent of the time but the other ten percent… Since he was back from Vegas, it seemed to be even harder to tell what she was thinking, but he was sure she must feel _something_ for him. She was just not ready yet, or she wouldn't have dropped the topic when he said he couldn't remember telling her he loved her.

Actually this thought made him smile. Why did he even try to pretend he felt something which came quite close to love for her, if it actually _was _love. He'd told her. He'd said it and taken it back and nothing but hurt her in the last weeks.

How could a woman like her love a broken bastard like him? It was selfish to want her this way, she'd done enough for him over the years already, but he couldn't let go.

It was time to lay the cards on the table and stand up to Mancini's advances towards his woman, because that's what she was. His.

Now how could he trick Lisbon into revealing feelings for him? Just telling her was not a good idea. She'd think he was messing with her and probably totally close up towards him. Just blurting the truth out loud wasn't his style anyways, no. He was Patrick Jane of all, he needed a plan.

Sometimes he asked himself if there really were no coincidences in life, because his "plan" just appeared to be standing on the beach, almost on the exact spot Lisbon had been standing some time ago.

Jane waited for the next wave to come, jumped upon it and let the wave push him until the board almost hit the sand.

"Hey there", he called out grinning and waved with his hand towards a tall brunette in a short skirt with a bikini top and bag in her right hand.

She recognized him and waved back, stepping towards him: "Good morning, Patrick. I wasn't sure if it was you. We haven't seen each other since you gave me a rain-check on that cocktail. What a coincidence!"

The consultant had a hard time not to roll his eyes on her words. If he wouldn't know better he'd say she was his very personal stalker at the golf club. Hillary was always there, _always. _Funny thing to her it was always a "coincidence", too.

She'd asked him out now twice and he couldn't stop thinking she was not the kind of company he'd enjoy for an evening. Hillary was a little dumb, focused on herself and gossip about other people. Like most women living in Carmel Valley.

Even though she was married, she had no intention to hide the fact that she was pretty interested in him in more than a casual friendship manner. _Now today_, Jane thought, _I can use this for my own advantage._

"A coincidence indeed. It's nice to see you. What are you doing here Hillary?"

"Just taking a walk on the beach. What about you?" she asked casually and tossed her hair back.

It was hard to not roll his eyes, that's why he pretended to wipe some water drops out of his face. Hillary was not that kind of take-a-walk-on-the-beach-woman, he could tell.

Jane pointed towards the surfboard to answer her question: "Surfing. The waves are great this morning."

Hillary laughed euphoric: "I didn't know you surf. Poor you, you got all wet."

"Well, that's the point of surfing. If I didn't get wet, I wouldn't be doing it right."

The woman didn't get it and started laughing again: "You're so right. I have to admit, Patrick, the swimsuit suits you!"

He'd have thanked her for the compliment, if her eyes would stop lingering on a certain lower part of his body he didn't want to think about right now. This woman was unbelievable – in a bad way. Just the right person he needed to start his scheme.

Jane put the brightest smile upon his face and cleared his throat to get Hillary's attention back to his face. "Now Hillary I'm sorry for giving you a rain-check last time. I'd like to make it up to you, what do you say?"

Her eyes lit with excitement and she started to bit her lower lip as if she had a different vision of "make up" as he had. Backing off was impossible now.

"Oh Patrick of course… though I have a quite busy schedule and…"

"Tonight, 7pm at a restaurant at San Diego Harbor?"

"Sure, I'll be there. My husband is out of town anyways, so if you want to stay for a coffee after dinner…" Hillary blinked with one eye and smiled seductively, which made Jane feeling kind of uncomfortable. He knew exactly what Hillary meant by "coffee".

"We'll talk about it later, shall we? I need to get back into the water, before the waves start loosing their speed. See you tonight."

"Alright", the woman answered pleased with the outcome of the conversation, "Mind if I stay a little and watch you?"

"Sure", he mumbled, before getting back into the water. This was not the woman he wanted to watch him, but it was a start in the right direction. If everything went well, Lisbon would be getting jealous if she saw him with Hillary tonight, she always did.

She had been jealous when Erica Flynn tried to hit on him and of course when Lorelei had been still in their custody. Although she tried to hide it, she couldn't and he knew, he always knew.

His game was rolling just fine at this moment, so Jane shooed all the other thoughts bothering him away and tried to concentrate just on the sea and the waves coming closer. It was time to show off what he could do with a board underneath his feet.

* * *

"Don't you like the lobster?", Mancini asked silently over the dinner table for two at the little harbor restaurant right next to the pier of the San Diego bay while eating his own different sort of fish filets mix.

Lisbon had been picking the seafood with her fork for about five minutes without eating one single bite. She looked up, confused, as if he'd pulled her out of an important train of thought: "Excuse me?"

"I asked if you don't like your lobster", the FBI agent repeated smiling, before stealing one of her fine baked potatoes, which were served with her meal.

He'd been the one to order for her and usually it was no problem to her, if the man who invited her picked the right thing. She'd been eyeing the rump steak or the chicken breast salad and not the lobster, so if Mancini wanted to impress her by his order, he'd chosen the wrong meal for her.

Although Lisbon forbid herself to compare the FBI agent to other men she knew – in this case it always turned out to be Jane whom she compared him with – it was hard not to. When Jane asked her out for lunch or dinner, it was so uncomplicated. He knew where to take her, what to order for her and even let her pay half of the check. Well, sometimes if he was tired of arguing with her.

Why couldn't she stop thinking about Jane? It was like he was anchored in her thought and came up even if she didn't want him to. Meeting him at the beach this morning by chance wasn't helping either.

"Liz?", Mancini asked concerned.

"Oh I do, it's delicious, it's just..." There was no way she could tell him she was thinking about the little encounter she had with Jane this morning. He wasn't exactly in Mancini's good books and every mentioning of Jane annoyed him although Lisbon knew it'd be advantageous to share the collected information about the case with him.

"What is it then, sweetie? Did I tell you, you look absolutely stunning tonight, dear?" He laid his hand over hers, before she had the chance to pull it away.

The woman in question let out a light breath she was holding. She had to talk with him about the pet name thing, because calling her "muffin" in front of Nikki, like he did the last time her new found "friend" was at her house, had been quite embarrassing.

_We are a couple_, Lisbon reminded herself and forced her face to put on a smile. That included holding hands in public and calling each other pet names. She should just accept it, even if she didn't want to. Mancini wasn't one to change his behavior anyway.

"Why thank you, Mark. It's nothing special at all, but I'm glad you like it."

"I always like the way you look, you know that."

She smiled and waited a couple of seconds, before she pulled her hand away and pretended to eat some of the lobster. The food was okay, but just not what she wanted right now. God, she'd give everything for a greasy cheeseburger and fries with ketchup.

It's not that she didn't like the fancy food here; usually lobster was quite special for her, but it seemed like she'd been eating nothing else in the last week. She was craving fries, cheeseburgers, Thai- or Chinese-takeout for dinner and bear claws in the morning, combined with the expensive but overly delicious Marie's coffee Jane bought her sometimes. Jane. Again him! This man couldn't just stay out of her thoughts, could he?!

"Nikki called this morning when you were at the beach. She invited us to a house party on Tuesday", Mancini told her, "I said we weren't be coming."

Lisbon almost dropped her fork on the plate. "What? Why didn't you tell me earlier, I should have called her back."

"I guess I forgot. What's the matter? We're not going to join them."

"Yeah, right and you're the one to tell me what I have to do with my time. Why would we not be going? It's another good chance to meet some people and get insight on their actions." She shook her head in disbelieve, angry because Mancini made such a decision without asking her.

Lisbon could talk out everything but she hated to be confronted with accomplished facts when it came to things she had a say in.

Mancini didn't seem affected at all by her reaction: "We're not going because we're going to meet with my boss to check out how things are progressing and if we need help. We can tell them our theories about Richard Aaron and they'll get the computer freaks on it. Maybe they'll find something we could nail them on." His voice was low so the people surrounding them couldn't hear what he was saying.

"That's not the point!", Lisbon exclaimed louder and attracted the views of other customers to their table. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have gotten that loud. But you can't just decide whether I go to one of these parties or not. What did you tell her I was up to?"

"Spending a night with your husband. What's the big deal? We _need _to talk to my boss in person. Not via phone, because the call could be tracked down and it'd look suspicious if he'd stop by for dinner."

The brunette agent took a deep breath and calmed herself down. Mancini had a point, they needed to talk to his boss and get some more help on the case, more facts and insights in the lives of the people they got to know to confirm who did not just seem suspicious but actually was.

On the other hand, she'd never been invited to Nikki's house for some reason and since she knew it was right next to Rebecca's, maybe she'd get the chance to snoop around a bit. Her husband was still the main suspect.

In this case she had to persuade Mancini it'd be better for them if they would accept the invitation.

"Think about the party, it's a chance for us to snoop around a little. You don't have to accompany me. I can go all myself while you go to the meeting with your boss and tell me later. Maybe I'll find something out, something which could help us nailing El Baron down." She put up a smile, patting his arm a little.

"But he wants to meet you."

Lisbon was about to roll her eyes: "He had plenty of time to meet me and see if I'm qualified for the job _before_ we went on that case. I'm sure he'd read some of my references Bertram gave to him. Now I'm in and he's got to live with your decision to hire me. Look, it's another chance to make progress. He'd be pleased to think we take our job seriously enough to split up and you go to have a talk with him, while I'm working."

Mancini raised an eyebrow: "I'm not sure if I'd consider drinking and dancing actual "work"."

"You don't have to tell him, it's a party, you know. Besides, I never drink when I'm on the job, you should know that. I guess we're both fine by pretending this whole job is pretty exhausting and not just fancy spa visits, golfing and expensive parties. We have to keep the act up if we want to gain more trust."

"If you say so." He mumbled, shrugged with his shoulders before letting the subject down and asking: "Are you up for some dessert? I don't think you'll eat much more of the mess you made on your plate."

Lisbon looked down to see she'd ripped the white flesh of the lobster in small pieces while arguing with him over the case and if she should go to the party or not. He still wasn't pleased by her decision to go to Nikki's and let him talk to his boss, but he couldn't deny she was wrong either.

"No, I don't think so. We should rather go and see what we can find out at the storage houses in the harbor. Just looking around, we won't do anything illegal." Although she had a sweet tooth, there was no way she wanted this dinner to last longer than necessary.

They waited for the waiter to come and bring the bill, before they stood up and headed out towards the exit.

* * *

"The industrial part of the harbor is about half a mile over there", Mancini explained and pointed towards the path which lead away from the boulevard with the colorful lights and music filled restaurants they were standing on. "Do you have a weapon? I mean just in case something happens."

Lisbon nodded, pointing towards the big black leather bad she'd placed over her shoulder: "Why do you think I carry this "sea bag" around with me?"

"Because it looks really good with your outfit?", a voice behind them suggested.

The agents turned around in shock to see a casual looking Jane standing a few feet away with a pretty brunette at his side. He smiled mischievously, patting the shoulder of the woman in his company and stepped forward. Taking Lisbon's whole sight in, he had to admit she really looked beautiful today. Not that there was any day she looked anything but perfect to him.

Her hair was pulled up to a light ponytail, the white heels matched her white top with little silver glitter applications, while the black jeans combined with her black leather jacket made the whole look casual and elegant at the same time. Smirking, Jane recognized she couldn't get rid of her "cop appearance" completely.

Now that the shock on Lisbon's face wore off, her features became more than angry. There came the thunderstorm he'd been expecting. "Jane! What the hell are you doing here?!"

"Enjoying the lovely evening with my dear friend Hillary. Hillary, meet my neighbors Mark and Elizabeth Smith."

Hillary set up a perfect smile before reaching out to shake each one's hand: "It's so nice to finally meet you! I've heard a lot about you. I hope you don't mind that I went out with your ex-boyfriend tonight…"

Jane waited for her reaction and to his own amusement, Lisbon's cheeks turned into a light shade of red. She still wasn't comfortable with the whole ex-girlfriends story, so he took the glare she gave him for Hillary's comment as authorized.

"He's not... We weren't… Never mind. Well it was nice to see you, Jane, but Mark and I have to go. Have a nice evening with your _friend_", she muttered annoyed, grabbed Mancini's hand and walked off in the direction of the harbor.

There it was, the little hint of jealousy in her perfect green eyes Jane had been waiting for. It was time to push his luck a little more.

"We'd like to accompany you on your little walk, if you don't mind", Jane suggested cheerfully, "It's such a lovely evening, isn't it?"

"Oh we _do_ mind", the FBI agent answered roughly before turning around once again. His hand was pulled to a fist, his facial expression annoyed and angry. Lisbon had a hard time to prevent him from hitting Jane in the face, although she wouldn't mind her consultant feeling some of the pain he usually gave her by being a pain in the ass.

"Patrick if they don't want us to join them, I think we should go", Hillary mumbled and for once Lisbon felt the urge to thank god for giving at least a little bit of brain to such women like her.

"It's not that we don't want you here", Lisbon started to explain calmly.

"Then I don't see a problem", Jane interrupted.

She shot him one of her Lisbon-looks before she grabbed his sleeve and pulled him a few feet away from the others so they were out of reach for them to hear what they were saying.

Hillary looked confused and a little pissed off because she went away to talk with her date for tonight. Well, why should this woman wonder what she and Jane had to talk about? The way she looked there was probably not much space in her brain left which was not occupied with how she looked, what she wore and how she could Jane into bed before midnight.

Lisbon had seen this look by lots of women who got in touch with her consultant. Usually he showed off his wedding band and brushed them off with the "I'm married" phrase.

The only time he'd ever come close to dating someone was with Kristina Frye and this had only been one dinner before she was captured by Red John and hypnotized in a way that made her think she was dead. To be honest, other situations one could describe as dating but weren't actual dates, have always been with her.

So no, Patrick Jane wasn't a "dating-type" and especially not with that kind of women who had this invisible sign of "stupid" on their head.

"You wanted to talk to me in private?" Jane smirked. Lisbon shook her head and averted her gaze from Hillary to the man in question.

"What is it Jane", she hissed, "Why, why did you come here and bring along such a … _her_?"

"Jealous, dear?" Jane asked grinning, enjoying the game he'd set up. She looked so beautiful when she was angry.

She almost had to laugh about his ridiculous suggestion. Jealous? Her? Sometimes she really questioned his abilities in reading people's minds. There were so many things one could be jealous for, but none of them was Jane's new friend he picked up who-knows-where!

Even if she looked stunning in the dress she wore and Mancini himself couldn't stop eyeing her from time to time while they were waiting for the agent and the consultant to finish, there was no need to be jealous.

If she wanted, she could have a dozen men on each finger, but she wouldn't. If she wanted a one-night-stand, she could get one without dressing up like this. Men liked her. Not all, but most of them, especially because she _was_ though, strong and independent and if men couldn't deal with that they were not worth it!

When she looked back up in Jane's face with a risen eyebrow, she remembered she still owed him an answer to the whole "jealous" tease.

"Jealous of her? Why would I be jealous? Because I'm not as pretty as her? Because you asked her out? Oh please Jane, we're not in High School. I don't care if you enjoy the company of _those_ women!" She pointed over to Hillary.

"I never went to High School", he teased although he was slightly wondered how the hell Lisbon could think she wasn't nearly as pretty as Hillary to him. Did she really think so less of herself when it came to her appearance and effect on men.

"Right, I forgot. Now I get why you enjoy this so much, you haven't had enough practice when you were a teenager. Now, why don't you escort your company to the next bar to get her drunk so you can do who-knows-what with her afterwards."

Jane let out a breath by her harsh words, taking her shoulders with both hands and forcing her to look him in the eye: "I'd _never_ do that, Lisbon. You should know me better."

The petite brunette shook his hands off: "Yeah, like you did with Lorelei?"

She knew she'd hurt him as she watched his face fall and growing all serious. Usually, Lisbon wasn't one to play dirty, but somehow she had the feeling Jane needed a buffer for his oversized ego right now.

"Lorelei was something completely different and I'm _not_ proud of it, no matter what you think!" He couldn't believe she still hold him at arms length for _this_. Yes he'd hurt her, but he promised himself to make it up if she let him into her life. He did all of this, just to _be_ let into her life damn it!

"Sure, so when it comes to Red John, suddenly all your actions are legitimized! Why did I even question your motives? You know what?" she said with her voice risen, "Do what you want with whom ever you want. I don't care anymore. Come on, Mark!"

Lisbon rushed over and grabbed her partner's hand to pull him away from the direction of her stunned looking consultant and his uncomfortable looking company.

"It was nice to meet you, Hillary", Mancini mumbled before Lisbon pulled harder on his hand.

Hillary looked after the couple and back to Jane, who was still looking for words, trying hardly to gain back his calm.

This was wrong. This whole situation was wrong! He'd messed it up again! How could he not have foreseen this? She'd been jealous to a certain point but suddenly it all backfired to him. Now she told him she didn't care anymore what he did, like she lost all the trust she ever had in him. He couldn't let that happen! Lisbon was the only thing _he_ trusted in, the only person he felt _alive_ with…

"What the hell was that, Patrick?" she asked insecure, interrupting his thoughts.

"Nothing... I'm sorry, Elizabeth always gets a little bitchy when she sees me with other women. I guess she's still not over me", he joked with a fake smile.

Hillary didn't answer but eyed him, unsure what to think. He laid an arm around her waist and guided her to the direction Lisbon and Mancini were heading. Maybe he should try to talk to her one last time tonight, before dropping phase A and heading on to phase B of his plan. Too bad he hadn't planned out phase B, since he was sure phase A would be a success.

"Are you still up for a walk?" Jane asked the woman.

"I don't know… we could go back to my place instead, or yours. But if you want to take a walk… why not."

He smiled knowingly at Hillary's suggestion. She wanted him in her bed, her advances towards him were pretty obvious, he could tell, but he'd be damned if he'd make the same mistake twice.

Lorelei hadn't been a mistake; she'd been a necessity to accomplish his goal. If Lisbon only knew the only reason he'd been able to get through the night with Lorelei was because he'd been thinking of her the whole time…

"… and then we were… Patrick? Are you even listening?"

"Of course I am. Go on." Jane listened to Hillary chattering light nonsense about unimportant subjects, while he kept thinking of Lisbon instead.

* * *

A/N: I just couldn't resist writing Jane surfing after all the pics with Simon and Liv ^^ I hope you guy don't disagree with me, because I always thought Jane could surf... I'd LOVE to hear what you guys think, especially about his idea with getting Lisbon jealous. Do you think it worked?  
I promise you some action in the next chapter. And when I say "action", I mean it ;)  
Have a great day!  
Liefs


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hello you guys! I'm sorry I wanted to upload this chapter yesterday evening, but I had work to do so I couldn't finish the last scene!  
Thank you all so much for the reviews, the new favs and follows and to every other person who reads my story.

This chapter has a little bit more action than usual and I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks to my beta Nerwen, who was so kind and betaed this chapter :)  
If you haven't already, please check out her new story "Wages Of Sin"! You can find it in the M-rated section. It's an amazing story, very thought out and as always very detailed, something you mustn't miss!

Now have lots of fun with the new chap!  
Liefs

* * *

(8)

"Are they still following us?" Mancini asked taking a look back to the black alley behind them.

"No, I think Jane got the hint."

"Ha, and you wanted him in on this investigation, Teresa. Do you understand now why I don't want him?"

Lisbon straightened her back and shot Mancini a glare: "You don't want him, because you don't get along with him. I wanted him in, because he's good at what he does."

"Annoying you?", the FBI agent suggested. She didn't answer but pulled him back right in time when they wanted to round a corner.

"Shht", she demanded silently and pointed towards a lonely streetlamp next to a few containers with paper garbage. Three men were standing underneath it, smoking a cigarette and having a silent conversation.

"Do you think that's the drug deal our informant spoke of?", he asked, peeking around the corner, "Look at the container, Lisbon. Can you see what I see?"

The brunette agent knelt down to get a better view of the area and saw the image on the containers. "They're garbage cans from Richard Aaron's paper company! So this storage house over there must belong to him, too! Let's try to get behind this huge mountain of empty cartons over there so we get to hear what they're talking about. We need something we can nail them down onto."

"You're right. In this position, we can only speculate what's going on, although they do not look like workers to me. Can you see if they're armed?"

Lisbon had good eyes, but the darkness and the dizzy light of the streetlamp just revealed silhouettes of the men standing there. "No. But I guess it'd be probably better if we get our guns out. We have to hide in the shadows, if we want to stay undiscovered."

"All right, you go first, I'll have your back", Mancini mumbled. Lisbon rolled her eyes on him but didn't say anything further. She waited a few seconds and was lucky when one of the men picked up his phone, answering an incoming call. The others were busy looking at him and continuing their conversation.

With her back pressed to the wall and a loaded gun in her hand, Lisbon made her way over behind a hill of old paper cartons and other stuff which wouldn't fit into the container. Mancini followed her silently.

They were closer to the three men then before and able to hear muffled voices.

"What do we do now?", Mancini whispered silently, peeping through a hole in one of the cartons to get a better look on the men.

"Being quiet and listening", Lisbon answered, putting a finger on her lips to silence her partner, "The one just finished his call!" Both agents even stopped breathing to be able to understand the spoken words in front of them.

"…will arrive in a few minutes. We have to load it off and hide it with the delivery for tomorrow morning so they get it on the ship to Mexico in time."

"What do we do with the other boxes?", one of the men asked. He had a hard Spanish accent, so Lisbon figured he might come from Middle or South America.

"It's paper, dude. We can drown it in the sea later, who cares? We need to get the weapons on board. Sig, disconnect the alarm of the storage house over there, so we can get inside. Take the Mexican guy with you so he can see what you're doing for next time. Too bad Magnum got killed in this gang fight last week. Now hurry up you bastards, we don't have much time."

The two agents could hear two pair of feet walking away. A match lit, followed by the smell of dirty cigarette durst. "Such idiots", mumbled the man who'd given the instructions to the other two, "Wonder who's getting killed next."

"This is an arms deal", Mancini whispered surprised and Lisbon nodded concerned. "Should we call for the police? We don't have any backup here and we don't know if there are more then the three of them around here."

"I don't know if it's not too early. The truck they were speaking off is not here yet so we'd have nothing against them except for a breaking into a storage hall. Can't you text one of your colleagues to get the police here when we give them a sign?", she asked.

Her whole body was tense. This was a huge break-through in their case and if they were able to arrest at least one of the guys over there, they could get a lead to the person behind El Baron. Now wasn't it suspicious, the arms deal was taking place on the ground of Richard Aaron?

This definitely wasn't the first time the men were doing this, since they knew how to disconnect the cameras and electricity of the storage house.

The FBI agent searched for his phone and covered the lightning of the screen with his hand while texting a message. It took him a short while, so just when he was finished, they could hear the noises of a small truck coming closer.

"There he is", the boss of the men mumbled loud enough for them to hear, threw his cigarette down and stepped on it, "punctual as always."

"He's gone. I can't see him anymore", Mancini said, peeping through the hole in one of the cartons. "Lisbon?... Teresa?"

"Shht!", she hissed, "I'm here! Come on, we can see them from here. It's a black truck, no company symbol on it. It must have been rented by one of the bosses." Mancini rounded the mountain of cartons to the side Lisbon was standing at.

"Can you see a license-plate?"

"No, it's too dark. But it's stopping right in front of the loading ramp. The driver's getting off… Maybe we will get the plate when we move back to the corner we were standing before." Lisbon pressed the flap of a huge carton down, so she could get a better view over the area. "We could… Wait. Oh no! No! What the hell…?!"

"What's wrong?", Mancini whispered curious, "Oh. Shit!"

From the point where they were standing, they could see the Mexican guy with a machine gun in his hand, pointing directly into the back of Patrick Jane and his frightened female company. The woman was shaking, stumbling over her own feet, when the man gave her a shove with the barrel of his gun. Both had their hands above their heads, signaling surrender.

Of course Jane would follow them. What was she even thinking, he was _Jane_! In good old Jane manner he got into the worst trouble and dragged an innocent woman into it.

_I should've shot him when I had the chance_, Lisbon thought furious. How could he be so careless, jeopardizing not only his, but also Hillary's life? She had to get them out of there. Alive!

"What is _he_ doing here?!", Mancini asked louder now that they were out of ear's reach from the men.

"I don't know. Ruining our operation, perhaps?", Lisbon answered, "We have to get them out of there."

Xxxxx

_If Hillary would have stopped chattering for once, they wouldn't be in this situation now_, Jane thought. His brain was thinking so hard it hurt. Damn, why did he follow Lisbon? What did he have to prove to her? That he didn't need an actual murder case to get into trouble and drag the people around with him?

He wouldn't care if he was alone, but now with a very frightened Hillary on his side, he had to get out of here. Jane just hoped Lisbon was here somewhere, watching them, or they had a serious problem, because these men didn't look like they would leave them alive.

"Hey Colt! Seems like two little mice just ran into our cat house. I found them peeking around the corner when I was disconnecting the camera's with Sig!" The Mexican pressed the barrel of the machine gun into his back and made him move forward another two steps.

There was no way out without help, he realized taking in his surroundings. Light drops of sweat were building in his neck and running down his back.

_Stay calm, Patrick. You need time. Time so Lisbon will find and save you._

Colt, the man who seemed to be the boss came out of the shadows behind the truck, a gun pointed towards Jane and Hillary. He eyed them from top to bottom, an ugly smirk on his dirty face.

"Oh what a surprise. I didn't know we were expecting guests tonight. Two little lost lovers. Say, what brings you here? Looking for a place to have a quickie? I'm afraid we're booked up for tonight."

"Well, if that's true, maybe you could let us go and look for another place", Jane explained, a little bit of mock in his voice.

"Oh yeah?", Colt asked, unlocked his gun and pointed towards Hillary who let out a horrified shriek.

"Please don't kill us, please… I… I have money, lots of money. I just have to make one call to my agent and I assure you…", she stuttered when Colt made attempt to come nearer.

"You hear this, guys? The little slut wants to make a call. What's your agent's number, 911? Pah! Maybe we should drown them in the harbor with the left over packages on their feet like in good old Italian mafia manner. What do you think, Sig? Wasn't your whore of mother part Italian?"

The men laughed aloud, only to be stopped by Jane's risky suggestion: "Well don't get me wrong, Gentlemen, but I think the mafia uses concrete blocks to drown their victims and not cartons with whatever it is inside."

Colt threw him a glance, stroke out and punched Jane into his stomach. The consultant hadn't been prepared for that and the punch pressed all the air out of his lungs. He got down on one knee and held his hurting stomach with one hand.

"Patrick", Hillary screamed, wanting to get down to him, but the Mexican held her back. "No.. Patrick, are you okay? Let me go you stinking son of a bitch!"

Xxxxx

Behind the hill of paper garbage, Lisbon let out a shocked breath, balling her hands into fists, wanting to punch Jane himself for getting punched by the man.

He must have made one of his stupid suggestions and pissed of the boss. Was this like a game to him? Did those situations give him a special kick?! He could be glad the man didn't shoot him for whatever he said. "This idiot! This damn stupid idiot! Damn it, Jane!"

"What?", asked Mancini, "what did he do?"

"What he can so best. Piss off people who are already pissed off enough to shoot him. What is _she_ doing now? Damn it, Gabe. Give your friends the signal, I'm going to reveal myself before either of them gets killed for…!"

Her blood froze, when she heard a shot coming out of one of the guns, followed by a high scream.

Xxxxx

Jane looked up to Colt, who was pointing with his gun towards the sky. He hadn't shot anyone, but Hillary had finally stopped screaming and started shuddering uncontrollably instead.

The man looked down on him, eyes as cold as ice.

"You be careful, Blondie or I'm going to blow your head off right in front of your pretty little bitch!", Colt hissed angrily. Jane nodded and stood up, holding his still hurting stomach and put his hands up in surrender again.

"Patrick, please", Hillary whispered afraid. Her breath was coming out in harsh hitchs.

"While I'm thinking about it, that wouldn't be a bad idea. Too bad we don't have any concrete blocks nearby. Hmm… Kill you, have our fun with _her_ and then kill her too. What do you think, guys? Care to share a woman's warmth tonight?" Colt stepped forward and put Hillary's face into his dirty big hand, pressing her cheeks together and inhaling her sweet scent.

The men, even the driver who joined them, started laughing, while Hillary seemed to be more and more uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Oh my god…", she whispered silently, before she fainted and almost fell down onto the hard ground, if Jane hadn't caught her in time. It seemed like the whole situation was just too much for her pretty little head.

"Hillary? Hey, wake up…", he muttered, patting her cheek but she was out like a light.

"See, the woman's lying down to our feet, guys", the one named Sig grinned and stepped forward, "if you don't mind, I'll take care of her while you unload the truck."

"Nice try, Sig", Colt said looking down in the unconscious woman, pointing down his gun to her. "Wake her up, Blondie."

Xxxxx

While the men were busy by imagining how to get rid of their uninvited guests, Lisbon used the chance to run over to the truck. Luckily she could hide in the shadows of the containers and boxes, so the chance they'd see her was small.

Hopefully Mancini had already called the Police and was following her. She should have listened to him and called the cops immediately to help them out. What was she even thinking to handle four armed men who seemed not afraid to shoot?

Carefully, the CBI agent hid behind the front of the driver's cab, watching out for the men at the end of the truck. The driver had joined them, so she had to make it quick. There was no chance she could just jump out of the shadows of the truck, not when she didn't knew the position of Jane and his friend.

She had to surprise them somehow, so Jane had the time to make sure Hillary and he were safe. Her view fell on the gap between the driver's cab and the separated loading space. A small latter went up on the roof of the truck. Maybe this was her chance.

Lisbon put her gun in the back of her waistband and climbed up the ladder. Although it didn't look like the truck was that big, he was still very high, so jumping off of it without breaking any of her bones, wasn't possible.

Getting down in her knees and crawling silently to the end of it, Lisbon could peek over the edge.

Now she was closer to be able to hear what was said. None of the men expected to be spied on, so she could risk eavesdropping, before she revealed herself.

Hillary was lying on the ground, Jane right next to her, shaking her shoulders softly. There was no blood, one of the aspects Lisbon felt relieved about, but three men pointing with their guns towards her consultant, was something completely different.

_Please, Jane_, she thought, _please don't do anything stupid right now or you may not survive it._

As much as she hated her consultant for messing everything up, she didn't want him to die by the hands of three crooks!

"She's not waking up! Just because your father treated your mother like she was less worth than the dirt under his boots, doesn't mean you have to treat women like this, too!"

Lisbon rolled her eyes, preventing her self to not groan aloud. What was he thinking?! That she'd come and save him in time probably, as she always did.

"Seriously?", Colt groaned, "What would you know about _my _father?!"

"Oh I don't know if you would really want to go there in front of your friends", Jane explained calmly, "but sure. Your father was a gangster, just like you, although he hadn't quite the high status as you now, that's why you're walking in his footsteps. Because you want to show him you can do better than him. He was abusive towards you and your mother, had…"

"Enough", Colt hissed angrily, shooting in his direction. Jane could feel the pressure of the bullet, which flew right over his shoulder into the dark behind him."

Lisbon almost screamed, but she pressed a hand on her mouth. This idiot! She would have shot him herself for this suggestion!

"Ey, you could have shot me!", the Mexican shouted.

The next one hits. Now stand up, Blondie and let the bitch where she is. Sig, take the Mexican with you and get rid of him, we have a truck to unload!"

The driver nodded and stepped onto a small ladder to open the back of the truck.

The CBI agent Lisbon took it as her chance to jump up, her loaded gun pointing down to the four men. "CBI, drop your weapon now!"

Jane's head shot up, looking to the darkened figure on the roof of the truck. There she was, his Lisbon, coming to save him! Standing there in her confident cop attire, she made quite the impression to him, almost as if she was some super hero with a gun.

"Lisbon", he whispered with happy and relieved eyes.

At first, the people down her feet were in a light shock stare. Especially Jane seemed surprised and glad to see her at the same time, why she couldn't stop herself from smiling to him. Then, everything went fast.

The driver jumped backwards, running to the driver's cab of the truck, while the men named Colt and Sig pointed their weapons toward Lisbon. The Mexican held the machine gun against Jane's head.

"Drop the weapon", Lisbon repeated calmly, but the men didn't even stir, instead Colt started laughing, the other two joining them.

She didn't have the time to look after the driver, who was hid safely in the driver's cab now. Hopefully Mancini would take care of him. Looking around, she realized she had a good shot towards the two men, but there was no way she could kill the Mexican without hitting Jane.

"I'd rather say you drop the weapon, lady, or my friend over there will shoot the hostages." He pointed towards Jane, who gave Lisbon an apologizing look.

"Let them go. The police will be here in a few minutes!" From far away, the sound of sirens waved through the night.

"Just enough time for us to disappear! Start the truck, Glock!", Colt yelled and opened the fire on Lisbon, who ducked down quickly. Pain shot through her left arm, when a bullet stoked her shoulder. "Damn it!"

She heard the bullets hit the metal of the truck, trying not to think that she could be dead in a few seconds if one bullet hit the target completely. The pain in her shoulder grew, but it was bearable.

Suddenly, the fire stopped and she allowed herself to peek over the edge with her gun in one hand.

The Mexican was lying on the ground, Jane crawling away from him towards Mancini, who was standing a few feet away with his gun pointing to the men: "FBI, drop your weapon!"

"Shoot the heat!", Colt screamed and wanted to fire again, but the truck started to suddenly move forward and Lisbon had a chance to fire herself. She hit one in the stomach and one in the knee just when a few of Mancini's bullets hit them in the back.

"Get down there, Lisbon!", the FBI agent called and Lisbon crawled quickly back to the beginning of the roof, to climb down the ladder.

The driver of the truck made a sharp turn around and the impact threw her over the edge of the roof, since there was nothing she could hold on to.

"No!", she screamed, but could prevent herself from falling down by holing her body with one hand on the side of the truck since her other arm was hurt.

_Hold on, Teresa, hold on!_, she thought panicked, trying to get back on top of the roof which was almost impossible with just one healthy arm. It was just too fast and difficult for her to get back up, so her only chance was the hill with the big paper boxes they'd been hiding behind a few minutes ago. If she let herself fall down there, there was a chance she wouldn't get hurt on the hard asphalt.

When the truck passed the point, she battered off of the side of the truck, let the edge loose and landed backwards in the middle of the paper hill.

Xxxxx

Jane had no time to react. Suddenly he was pulled back by the Mexican guy when the other two men started to shoot in Lisbon's direction. He tried to free himself, help her somehow, but the grip was just too strong and the machine gun, now in his back, didn't make it any easier.

To his own surprise, he felt the Mexican behind him stir, loosen the grip and getting down on the knees, pulling Jane with him.

Wait, Lisbon couldn't have shot him, could she? No, she was searching for cover on the roof of the truck. Everything happened too quickly! Did she get shot? He wasn't sure…

"FBI, drop your weapon!", the FBI agent yelled.

"Shoot the heat!", Colt directed his accomplice.

"Jane, get down!", Mancini screamed behind him and for once, Jane did as asked by the FBI agent. He ducked again and heard one man getting down, then the other one, while the truck was moving away with Lisbon on top of it.

She had to get off this damn vehicle, or it'd catapult her down when the truck would turn around into the direction of the exit with this amount of speed.

They could see her crawling towards the driver's cab. She was in pain, it was obvious for Jane. Something was wrong with her. Did a bullet hit her? Oh no, please no! It was all his fault!

"Get down there, Lisbon!", the FBI agent yelled concerned. He knew too what could happen when she fell off the roof.

"Damn it, we have to stop the truck, before she…", started the consultant and stared in shock when the driver made a sharp turn with the vehicle.

"Lisbon!", Jane screamed at the same time like Mancini, when her body slid over the edge of the roof of the truck. They couldn't see her anymore, since she fell down on the other side.

"Dear lord…", whispered the dark haired man, not able to move. "Jane, get over there and help Lisbon, I have to take care of everything here. The police will be here shortly."

Jane nodded shortly, wanting to run over to the side Lisbon must have fallen off, but was hold back by the FBI agent's firm grip. "Make sure she's okay, or I'm going to kill you with my bare hands!"

The men looked each other deep in the eye, knowing they were both just as concerned for Lisbon's wellbeing. Mancini must have hated it to let _him_ be the one to look for Lisbon's wellbeing, but he was the lead agent right now and had other duties to fulfill.

The three men were dead and Hillary was still lying in the ground unconscious.

Jane threw the woman a quick glance, before running off, being relieved she'd been unconscious the whole time. He already had a hell of explanation to do to her, something he was not looking forward to.

Lisbon wasn't lying anywhere on the asphalt, which gave Jane a feeling of relief and worry at the same time. It was impossible she could have held herself on the edge of the truck if she was injured.

His eyes fell over to the hill of old paper garbage. Was there any chance she could have waited for the truck to pass this place to let loose and use the cartons as a buffer?

"Lisbon, are you in there?", he called carefully. If she really fell off the truck here, the chance she might have seriously injured herself was small.

The first police cars drove on the area with loud sirens and blue light. As always, they came just when everything was over, jumping out of their cars and making a hell of a noise. Two ambulances came right away.

"Lisbon! Lisbon, are you okay?", Jane called. He couldn't see the petite brunette in the huge amount of old paper cartons. Instead of waiting for an answer, he started to push away the cartons and boxes, to make his own little path into the middle of the mountain. "Lisbon!"

"I'm here!", a voice groaned from above, sounding lightly irritated.

Jane looked up to his right, seeing something that looked like a foot hanging out of a box. "Lisbon. Is everything all right? Are you hurt?"

"Yes, a bullet streaked my arm, but it's nothing serious. Can you please get me out of here?" She sounded more than desperate and Jane immediately felt relieved. Although it was difficult, he tried to climb the hill up, instead of shoving the boxes away.

He found Lisbon lying on her back downhill, stuck in a big carton, unable to move since her weight pressed the cartons next to her further together.

"I got you", Jane said, not able to hide the grin on his face because of the weird position she was lying in. "Give me your hand, I'll pull you out of there."

Thankfully, Lisbon grabbed his hand with her healthy arm and got out of the carton in short time. A little awkwardly, they climbed down the hill, trying not to fall or get stuck between other cartons. It was a little difficult for Lisbon, since she was just able to really use one arm and her high shoes weren't the best either, but somehow they managed. Jane right behind her, held his hand close to her back to support her, whenever she stumbled.

Finally down on the ground, Lisbon knocked the dirt off her trousers and rubbed her hurting arm, noticing there was a little blood on her flingers.

"You're bleeding, Teresa. Please let me see…"

When the consultant's eyes met hers, he swallowed hard. He'd done a lot bad things over the years which pissed her off so she'd give him this special look she always saved for such an occasion, but it was no comparison to what he could read in her eyes right now.

* * *

Jane stood a few feet away and watched Lisbon getting her arm bandaged by one of the medics. She hadn't spoken a word with him yet, going to one of the waiting ambulances immediately to let them look the injury over. The whole area was lit up by the blue and red lights of the police and ambulance cars, but he'd only eyes for the petite brunette, who had a hard time not to wince when the paramedic disinfected her wound on the arm.

A few more inches to the right and the bullet would have hit her heart, a thing he didn't want to think about right now. He'd always believed that Red John was the most serious threat to her, after he wanted her dead body as proof for his change, but Jane realized she could be taken away from him every time she left the building, every time she tried to save him.

A sharp breath brought him back to reality. Lisbon's eyes were closed and her lips pressed to a thin line. _She must be in pain _Jane thought with regret, _and it's my fault._

She could have died by falling off the truck, could have been killed by one of the bullets, just because he couldn't listen to her once in his life _again_. He had no idea they would be off to witness an arms deal when he decided to follow them with Hillary. The only thing he'd had in mind was annoying her, getting her mad for being with another woman. Now he could see what his actions had cost him. Three men were dead, one on the lam and Lisbon injured.

Would she forgive him for the mess he created tonight? This time he'd crossed a line. People got killed, Lisbon got injured… because of him. He had such a bad conscience, just like when he left her for over six months without a word to fake his break down.

Why couldn't he stop hurting her? Why was she always the one to suffer from his stupidity?

His stomach tightened uncomfortably when Lisbon's eyes met his for a second. She was mad, mad as hell and he wasn't sure how the hell he was supposed to straighten out things this time.

"Sir?" a paramedic asked behind him. Jane nodded, but couldn't turn his eyes away from the woman in the ambulance in front of him. "Would you like to ride in the ambulance with Mrs. Woods? I was told you came here with her."

It took a while for Jane to realize he totally forgot about Hillary while worrying about Lisbon's injury. Was she still unconscious? Damn, he had a lot to explain to her. Another thing Lisbon would be mad about. He dragged Hillary into this and she could have get seriously hurt by the men.

"Is she alright?" he asked concerned.

The paramedic nodded, pointing towards another ambulance: "She just woke up and is asking for you. Right now a police officer is with her, but we want to check her out in the hospital."

He owed her to accompany her to the hospital since he was the one who got them in this situation in the first place.

"I'll be there in a minute", Jane said and left the man just when Lisbon was released from the ambulance. She had problems to get her leather jacket back on by her own, so he rushed over to help her.

The woman didn't say anything, just stared at him with eyes as cold as ice, before she grabbed the jacket and laid it over her arm, refusing Jane's help by turning her back to him. After a quick look around, she went towards Mancini who was talking with the Sergeant.

"Oh come on, Lisbon. Giving me the silent treatment is rather childish", Jane suggested playfully, being right behind her. He could feel her tense when she stopped and turned around to him again, balling her hands to fists. Awaiting a deserved punch in the nose, the consultant reluctantly closed his eyes, but nothing happened. He peeked one eye open to see she was still standing stock-still, watching his every move.

"What? No punch?" he grinned, but the woman in front of him didn't smile back.

"Are you happy now?" Lisbon asked seriously, waving her hand around in general.

"Why would I be happy seeing _this_?" He made a similar move with his hand, just to lighten up the mood, but his boss wasn't one for laughing right now.

He saw her swallow hard and take a deep breath, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Although she blinked hardly, suddenly her eyes shimmered a little with tears. Jane's mouth popped open a little, while the stone in his stomach grew and grew. He had never seen Lisbon cry in front of him, not even when she was really upset. Usually she tried to cover up her sadness with anger and aggression towards him, but now she just stood there, watching the ground, trying to hold her tears back. Damn, what had he done?!

"I don't know why you do this, Jane, really. I try to find answers and all I get are more questions. You… you messed up our whole undercover operation, three men got killed, your friend needs to go to the hospital and I was almost shot to death on top of this damn truck because I had to save your ass _once again_. Is this kind of funny for you? Is this all a great joke to you a la "let's mess things up to see if Lisbon can straighten it all out"?"

"Certainly not. I didn't want this to happen, Lisbon, you have to believe me", Jane said, trying desperately to touch her, but she just took a step back, shaking her head.

"Then what was this all about? I… I don't get you, Jane. You want me to believe you; you want me to trust you after you pulled a thing like _this_! I can't do this anymore, not like that!" She tried hard to blink away the tears, but one slipped out of the corner of her eye, rolling down her cheek.

Jane felt seriously sick. He could deal with Lisbon screaming at him, punching him, punishing him with her cold Lisbon-looks, but he couldn't deal with her crying in front of him. He'd sworn himself to never make her cry again because of him, but there, she did and he broke a promise he made to her once again.

When he made an attempt to touch her, she held a hand up to stop him: "Don't."

Oh how he wanted to wrap his arms around her small frame, kiss her and tell her that he was sorry, that he would do better next time if she gave him another chance. She was the only comfort he has had in the last years and it was weird to suddenly lose it, he couldn't!

"Please, Lisbon. I am truly sorry…"

She wiped away the tear with the back of her hand, taking a deep breath to calm herself down: "No Jane. No, you're not. You want me to forgive you, to trust you, but you keep hurting others, keep hurting me and I just can't take it anymore. You could have died today, I could have died and even if all of this is fun to you…"

"It's not!", the consultant chipped in, but Lisbon continued.

"It is no fun to me. I can't. I can't trust you, I can't count on you, and I can't do this anymore when you don't even care the slightest bit."

"I care, Lisbon! I do care about you! It wasn't my fault this happened today, if Hillary wouldn't have…"

"Please Jane, don't make this about any other person but you", Lisbon whispered, "If you'd care about me, you wouldn't have done this. But what the hell was I even thinking?" A hysterical laugh escaped her throat. "It's over, Jane, you won. You. Won."

The words hit him like a fist in the stomach. Was she really kind of breaking up with him although they hadn't even had the chance to come together in the first place? She couldn't do this, to him, although she had every right. She was Lisbon for god's sake, his honest, true-hearted Lisbon…

"What does that mean "I won"? Are you giving up on me?"

Lisbon watched him with sad eyes, a hint of pity and desperation in it, also shame. She'd done everything for him in the past few years. Went along with his crazy schemes, helped him to follow every clue he got about Red John, hell she even faked her own death just because he asked her to help him but it seemed like it was not enough for him, not enough at all.

She gave everything to him, everything she could and he'd hurt her more than her abusive father or any other person ever had.

Lisbon didn't want to give up on him but right now she couldn't live with the situation and how things were going between them either. She needed time to think.

Jane's eyes were still looking for hers and when she finally looked up, a sigh filled the air: "I don't know what to tell you, Jane. I'm sorry." Without another word the agent left him standing between the hurrying police officers who were clearing the crime scene like a lost puppy.

"Sir, we're ready to drive to the hospital now. Are you coming?", the paramedic from a few minutes ago asked.

Jane threw one last sad glance to Lisbon who was standing beside Mancini now. Somehow it seemed to be the right place for her to be instead of being here with him. The sight hurt him deeply, as did her words which kept repeating in her head. _"I don't know what to tell you."_ Damn. _"I'm sorry." _What the hell?!

While thinking about the petite brunette who just lost her hope in him, he turned around and stepped into the ambulance where Hillary was waiting for him, wanting answers he couldn't give her.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night when Mancini pulled up their Porsche in the driveway of their house and turned off the engine with an exhausted sigh. After they spent hours at the precinct in San Diego City to explain everything to the cops and puzzle out a plan to cover everything up, they finally were able to go home.

The cops hadn't been happy about what happened at the harbor and weren't very forthcoming when it came to agreeing on what to tell the public. In this case, it was good Mancini knew some important people to call. After the captain received a call, everyone became overly friendly.

Somehow the press had been informed and arrived at the crime scene just in time after Lisbon and her colleague were safe in one of the police cars.

After a while, reporters drove up in front of the precinct and ambushed the officers to get first hand information about the two citizens, who "accidentally" witnessed an arms deal and were so brave to call the police to help two captured people out of their misery.

They couldn't tell the story any differently, since Hillary had been with them and she was not one to withhold information to the press. Jane had called her, asking how much to tell the woman who had more questions then he had answers.

Lisbon switched into her professional mode back then and told him what exactly to tell her so their story was believable but not too detailed. She dared to kill him if he should reveal any of their names to the press, but that was clear for him.

Jane made Hillary promise to not use his name while talking to the reporters and she agreed, since she knew her husband would be furious if he found out, was he already on the way back home from his business trip to care for his wife.

That was all Lisbon knew until now because they hadn't spoken to each other since then.

Now it was all about covering up what happened and keep the damage their undercover operation carried away as small as possible. It was good the police wouldn't get to use any names, but Lisbon wasn't sure if the driver had seen her.

Their greatest problem was the fact, that the police lost track of the truck with the arms, so there was no chance they could talk to the man and interrogate him for more information on the case.

If he saw her, the chance he'd report her to his boss was close, so they could pack their bags rather sooner than later.

_It was all Jane's fault_, she thought, biting her lower lip angrily. If he hadn't followed her in the first place, none of it would have happened. He couldn't stay away, could he?

She was so disappointed in him, so sad, exhausted and especially betrayed. Right now, she wasn't even sure what to think of him asking if she was giving up on him.

In her whole life people had hurt her, sometimes physical, sometimes verbal, but Jane was another league. He did things one couldn't forgive and still, she had - ever and ever again. He'd learned nothing over the years and although she never was one to give a person up, today she was close.

People might think she was crazy, it wasn't sane to put up with a person like Jane for almost a decade, but her never ending hope in lost causes helped her to look behind the façade of the ever-smiling arrogant man. Lisbon thought he was different, _knew_ he was, but today made her question her own ability to "read" people even more.

A warm hand covered hers. The agent looked up, seeing Mancini's worried gaze lingering on her: "Are you okay, Teresa?"

She nodded slowly, pressing his hand: "It's okay. I'm a bit pissed, but it's okay. Let's go inside, I'm really tired and could use some sleep."

The FBI agent watched her for another second, before he put up a smile and got off the car.

"Do you still think we should include Jane in our operation? After what he pulled today, I'm not sure if my bosses don't want to see him hanging for this. What do you think?" he asked after they entered the hallway and Lisbon was already walking up the stairs.

She thought about is for a moment. Jane deserved to be punished for what he did, but she knew dragging him in front of a judge wouldn't do them any good. He'd probably point out the incompetence of the FBI, and blackmail them with what really happened to Wainwright.

"I don't think that's an option, Gabe. Jane doesn't care about paying the FBI an amount of money. You should know him better by now. He will turn the words in your mouth and make you look bad. Is that what you want?"

Mancini shook his head: "How does it come you are still protecting him, Teresa? Don't you see he does nothing but hurt you?"

Lisbon was about to enter her bedroom and close the door, but Mancini put a foot between the frame.

"I am not protecting him", she said, walking towards the window to close the curtains. To her own surprise she could see a shadow standing on the balcony adverse hers. Jane. He must have been waiting for her to talk to him again, but she wouldn't.

He messed up and she wouldn't talk to him in the next few days, even if she knew this was a pretty pathetic punishment. His words started to repeat again in her head: _"Are you giving up on me?"_

She didn't know, she didn't know what to do, why he was there with this woman and everything… A hand on her shoulder made her flinch.

"Teresa… You're still standing up for him. He's not worth it, trust me."

When Lisbon turned around, Mancini was closer to her than she thought he was. "I…" she whispered, not able to look anywhere but his lips.

"Shhh. You deserve better than this lunatic, of a man. If you would let me, I would give you everything…"

He closed the gap between their mouths and pressed his lips on hers. Lisbon was surprised by the vehemence of the kiss, so stunned; she opened her mouth and let his tongue slip inside.

Her eyes weren't closed but wide open instead while the FBI agent plundered her mouth with his wet tongue and pressed her body against the glass of the French window, pressing the air out of her lungs.

His hands roamed her body and slipped her shirt up a little to touch her bare stomach. If anyone could see them…

_Oh my God, Jane!_, Lisbon thought shocked. He was standing on his balcony watching Mancini kiss her! She moaned, which originally had been an attempt to get Mancini to stop, but it seemed like he took this as a hint to go on and shove his tongue farther down her throat.

She couldn't kiss a man like that in front of Jane, it would hurt him, she was sure… What the hell was she thinking? Why should Jane care if she was kissed by a man. He couldn't see she wasn't responding at all to Mancini's rough kisses.

He would be furious by the fact it was Mancini she was kissing, because he still thought the agent could be a Red John mole – a fact Lisbon would rather not want to think about right now.

Jane had hurt her badly today and although she usually wasn't one for payback, maybe this would show him life wasn't just about him.

Mancini was slipping up her shirt until his hands reached the fastener of her bra, when she pushed him forward, closing the curtain with one free hand while burying the other one in his black shiny hair.

The moment he tried to unfasten her bra, Lisbon stopped the weird kiss and cleared her throat. "Gabe, I… I can't do this, I'm sorry."

The room was still dark, since none of them had bothered to lit the lamp while entering, so she couldn't see what was going on in his face. After a few moments, the FBI agent let her lose and stepped back: "I'm sorry, Teresa. I shouldn't have… I… am kind of hyped up because of all that happened tonight. Good night, I'll see you tomorrow."

He left the room and closed the door, while Lisbon was still standing there, breathing heavily. Hyped up. It seemed like men were all "_kinda hyped up"_ when it came to her!

Angrily she tore her shirt off, wincing when the quick move hurt her injury, before heading to the bathroom.

Xxxxx

Jane couldn't believe his eyes when he witnessed _his_ Lisbon being pressed against the window by no one else but "Stupidcini" himself. She couldn't be doing this while she knew he was watching! Lisbon had seen him, so why…

His hands gripped angrily around the banister of the balcony while he watched the two figures in the other house.

How could she kiss _him_?! How could she… The bodies moved away and the curtain was closed by Lisbon's free hand.

God, they couldn't be doing what he thought they were doing right now. How could she betray him like that?! She was _his _Lisbon and no other man than him had the right to…

Reality crushed so hard over him, he thought he had to sit down for a moment. The truth hit him like a bolt.

This woman wasn't his and after today, she might never be. Jane stormed inside, for the first time after his wife died clueless what to do.

* * *

A/N: Please don't shoot, I beg you! *hide* I HAD to do this and it will not be more than this kiss between Lisbon and Mancini, I promise.

I hope you liked this chapter :) I'd love to hear what you think of it! Did Jane go too far? Do you think Lisbon really gave up on him?

The next chapter will have another surprise for you, so stay tuned!  
Have a great day

Liefs


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Oh. My. God. Tomorrow's the day of the day we've all be waiting for! I can't believe it! The. Finale. I guess most of you know how I feel, because you're feeling that way yourself. Here in Germany it's already Sunday, so... YAY :D

I just finished this chapter and thought you might like the distraction ;) So here it is!

One last thing I have to say... I was so blown away by all your response from last chapter! You hit the 20 reviews for one chapter mark! Thank you so much, you have no idea what it means to me :) You guys are great and I hope you like the new chapter as much as the last one!  
Now enjoy the new one! :))

* * *

(9)

_The early morning light was falling through the small gap of the curtains in Lisbon's bedroom. Her whole body was sore and hurt from the fall off the truck last night. There was so much pain in her body, she almost didn't feel the itching of the shot wound on her left shoulder. _

_All her praying last night to make the events just seem like a bad dream had been success less. Now, after sleeping, she could see everything a bit clearer and wasn't as hyped up as she had been the other night. _

_Jane had messed up. They had an argument about trust and when she came home, she let Mancini kiss her, knowing Jane was watching them. God this was such a tricky situation. There was no chance to blame the pain medics for it, because she refused to take some when the paramedic asked her. Everything had been her doing. _

"Are you giving up on me?"_ She wasn't sure what to do. Yes, she was mad as hell and if there was any chance for her not to get arrested, she would have loved to shot Jane right there, but giving up on him? They had been through so much, they had spent almost a decade together... they were _partners_ for gods sake! She was always there when he needed her and so was he. At least some of the time._

_No, Lisbon couldn't give up on him, even if she wanted to. Well, that didn't mean he hadn't given up on _her_ after last night._

_Jane wasn't off the hook yet though. She wanted him to apologize and have a serious talk with each other, one where either of them were calm and rational. _

_Reluctantly, the agent forced herself to get out of bed and pull the curtains back to open a window, letting fresh air flood the heated room. To her own surprise, Jane was already sitting in the nicely cushioned beach chair on his balcony, reading a newspaper. _

_He looked bad, with dark circles under his eyes, his hair tousled and his shirt stuffed sloppily inside the pair of trousers he was wearing. Lisbon swallowed hardly, because his appearance reminded her of the first day he showed up at the CBI. Irritated, desperate and broken. _

_She didn't know whether to open the door and ask if everything was okay or to just let him be, but when he accidentally looked up and saw her watching him through the window, Lisbon forced herself to open the French window leading out to the balcony and stepped outside. _

_Jane watched her irritated, when she reached the banister and leaned on it, her bare toes playing with the bars. _

"_Morning, neighbor", she mumbled, pushing her own tousled hair behind one ear. Damn, maybe she should have changed into something other than her short nightdress first. _

_When he made eye contact, Lisbon shivered a little. She wasn't used to get such a cold and disapproving look by him, nor was she used to him giving her the silent treatment. _

_Wasn't he the one who'd messed up? Why was he reacting like their roles were switched?!_

_The consultant stood up without a word and folded his newspaper together. He scanned her from top to bottom, before turning around making an attempt to go inside, which made Lisbon a little angry._

"_Hey!", she shouted, watching him tense and turning around again, "What's going on?!" _

"_I guess we're even now, Lisbon. I hope _he _was worth it", Jane almost spit out in disapproval and hurt._

"_What the…?" But Jane had already closed the door and walked out of his bed room. _

What the hell was that?!, _she asked herself, _What did he mean with what he just said?And who was worth what?_ Bit by bit, things began to dawn on her. She'd let him witness the kiss between her and Mancini last night. He didn't see the FBI agent leaving, so he must have assumed they were… _

"_Oh my god", she whispered offended. How dare him. How dare him to hold her onto this ridiculous thought and treat her like she just cheated on him! She didn't sleep with Mancini and even if she had, it was none of his business! _

_Did he really think her sleeping with Mancini was as close to a betrayal and him sleeping with that Lorelei bitch? Jane was a self-righteous bastard and nothing more! _

"_Damn it!", Lisbon shouted furious before stepping back in the bedroom. Jane had no right to be like that! What did he even care? She could have almost died last night, she got shot, but the thing that outrages him is the thought that she slept with Mancini!_

_Too bad this freaking bedroom had no vase she could smash against the wall, because that was what she needed right now. She's been close, _this _close in forgiving him, but instead of talking like two grown up people, he was just… "Argh!"_

_A knock on her door let her turn around. "What?", Lisbon asked bugged._

_Mancini peeked inside, raising an irritated eyebrow: "Are you okay Sweetheart? If it's because of the kiss…" _

_To Lisbon, that was the last straw. "No, I am not okay! And don't you ever call me one of those stupid ridiculous pet names again! I'm neither your Honey, nor your Sweetheart nor your Powerpuff Pumpkin! Not in public, not here, _never, _you understand?_ _The stupid kiss was a bad idea, because we're on the job and have to be professional. Now get the hell out of my room Mancini!"_

_The agent closed the door without a word and Lisbon let herself fall back into bed. The whole situation was a great mess and all she wanted to do was cry._

Lisbon stared at her reflection in the huge mirror of the changing room. Yeah. That was what happened this morning, something she wasn't very proud of but she couldn't call it off either.

Thank god Nikki had called and dragged her into one of these noble boutiques' at the Fashion Valley Mall, the so called "Rodeo Drive" of San Diego, because she needed a new dress for tomorrow's party. Not that her closet wasn't bursting already with clothes which had still the price tag on it, no. It was a typical case of "I have nothing to wear".

Lisbon wouldn't have accompanied her, if the situation at their home wasn't as tense as it was after the events from last night and this morning. She hadn't apologizes to the FBI agent when she came down to get some breakfast. Going shopping with her friend had been the only chance to flee from his damn attempts to get into her pants again and Jane's current presence is her head.

If there was a chance she could erase all the thoughts turning around the latter of both man, she'd gladly take it.

Lisbon wasn't one for shopping and hated it even more if she was forced to try on some low cut designer dresses, worth more than two of her monthly salaries, but if she had to choose between dealing with her colleagues and pretending to be fine with Nikki, there was no question what to do.

Still, the occasions she wore a dress were mostly limited to the annual CBI fundraiser and the Christmas ball, so there was no need in paying so much money for a piece of fabric she'd never wear to one of the named events.

Dressing up and _dressing up_ were two different things to her, so what was the point in wearing clothes she could never afford, just to be in the center of men's attention? To be honest, she had enough to do while dealing with the two men back in Carmel Valley, so there was no point in picking up another example of the male species which would make her life more complicated than it already was.

Lisbon sighed heavily and tried to concentrate on the dress Nikki forced her to try on. There was no point in saying no to the woman who'd complained about her being "grumpy" and "no fun" all morning. She'd apologized and forced herself to see the positive side effect of accompanying Nikki's extravagant shopping habits – no Jane and no Mancini here to annoy her.

Her eyes wandered over the petite figure in the mirror. Although the bright light made her skin seem a little too pale, the red dress was bringing out the rest of her body perfectly. It fit like a second skin, but somehow, Lisbon had to admit, something important was missing. A woman wearing such a dress was supposed to smile like she knew she would make the _one _man crazy with want. Too bad she couldn't find said smile on her face, hadn't been able to find it in a long time.

The last months preyed on her mind, making her think about feelings she'd been pushing aside too long, especially after what Jane'd said this morning. Underneath all this rage and anger she felt for her consultant, there was this little broken part inside her she'd been pushing away for too long.

If one would see her now, they wouldn't think she was happy with her life, no. She looked rather… sad and worn out, done with everything.

It was hard to cover up the scars Jane's absence left on her. Seeing him leave was like breaking her heart into a thousand pieces… but she managed. Lisbon managed to put all her feelings aside and be the badass cop she was known for. Now that Jane was back, everything had changed. Everything. He was obsessed with getting Red John more than ever.

What would her consultant say if he saw her now? Apart from the fact that he punished her with silent treatment because he thought she slept with Mancini.

She could remember the last time, like it was yesterday; when he entered her office without knocking, while she was trying on the pink bridesmaid dress, Van Pelt gave her.

"_Van Pelt must die."_

"_No, no, no, you look good! This is… beautiful. Like a princess. An angry, little princess, someone stole your tiara."_

Remembering the exact words Jane said made her smile at least a little. There. Suddenly her reflection in the mirror looked completely different. Happy. How long had it been since she felt truly happy and careless? Just too long.

_Who am I kidding?,_ Lisbon thought, _These days are gone. It's never going to be like that again. _And just like that, the smile vanished, leaving back an even sadder expression than before.

Being constantly on the edge, willing to sacrifice everything for Jane and getting nothing in return was too much to bear.

"Liz? Can you come out for a second? I need your opinion on this one?", Nikki asked from outside.

The agent shook her head. This must be the 10th dress the woman tried on in this store! Although Nikki was nice in private, she was this kind of a customer, employees always feared most. Lisbon almost felt pity for the young woman who had made the mistake to ask Nikki if she needed help when they entered the boutique. She bet the salesgirl couldn't wait for the second they left the store!

Sighing, she pulled the curtain a little aside so she could see Nikki but wasn't revealing anything of her own body: "Looks good."

Nikki was watching herself in the mirror outside, turning from the left to the right, a critical expression on her face. "I think my boobs are too small for this dress, don't you think?"

Lisbon raised an eyebrow. Everything on this woman looked perfect, even the size of her breasts – which the agent wasn't sure were real or the work of plastic surgery. Nikki could wear almost everything and look extremely hot in it; the dress she wore now was no exception. But Lisbon had learned long ago it was better to agree in a case like this, or she could listen to another 30 minute lecture what her friend didn't like on her body.

"A little maybe. I liked the one you wore before."

"Yeah, I think me too. The thing is, I have a dozen of pink dresses in my closet already", the woman answered.

Now Lisbon couldn't stop to roll her eyes at her: "It's the same thing with every other possible color."

"You may have a point there", Nikki laughed, "Well, I think I'm going to try on the pink and the peach-colored one again and then I'll decide. Have you found something nice for the party? What about the red dress I gave you, are you wearing it?"

All of a sudden, the agent started to feel very uncomfortable: "Uhm, I… I don't know… I think I'm not the type for it."

"Nonsense, let me see." Nikki stepped forward and pulled the curtain aside so she could take a look at Lisbon who was standing in the changing room rather awkwardly.

Her eyes wandered critically over her body, until she met the brunette's eyes and grinned happily: "Oh Liz, you look absolutely pretty. I knew the color would suit you! Mike will love it."

She didn't bother to correct her with Mancini's undercover name. It was an open secret, Nikki didn't like Mancini and neither did the rest of her friends or their husbands. The less they liked Mancini, the more they liked Jane, because everyone wanted to be his friend.

"You should take the dress, Liz. You won't find a better one", Nikki encouraged her friend, "Do you love it?"

Shaking her head, Lisbon stepped back. There was no way she could buy this dress. Not on the cost of the FBI nor her own bank account. "Yes… No…I… uh… have to think about it. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow."

"But if you wait until tomorrow, another one could have taken it. If you love something, you can't wait until forever to have it. Or is there a problem with the money…?"

She didn't even hear the last words her friend said to her, because her mind was centering around what Nikki said in the sentence before. _"If you love something, you can't wait until forever to have it."_ There was so much truth in it, it almost hurt.

It was her own fault the thing with her and Jane didn't work out. If she'd have admitted the truth earlier to herself, told him that she couldn't stand it anymore, they might have… But she'd been waiting too long to make a move and then Lorelei came along and snatched him away. Jane had never answered her question if he had feelings for Lorelei, but she was sure of it.

The mistress of the serial killer must have meant _something_ to him, or he wouldn't have kissed her in the interrogation room when she demanded it. There was no way he would do something like this if there weren't strong emotional feelings involved. And now he was angry with _her_ for sleeping with Mancini, a thing she didn't even do! If one of them had the right to be angry, it was her!

"Liz? Are you okay? You seemed so off today. Is something wrong?"

Lisbon's head snapped up: "What? No… I'm sorry, Nikki. Things have been _difficult_ in the last two days." Hell, they had been for the last eight months!

Her friend seemed not pleased, but her attention was caught on something different, when her eyes drifted to Lisbon's left upper arm. "What happened there? Seems like a pretty big bandage to me."

_What?_, the agent thought, _Oh no, I totally forgot…_ "I… fell."

"You fell?", Nikki asked not very convinced.

"Yeah. I was… running and then I stumbled and fell against this stone wall with sharp edges. It's nothing, really."

Although the changing room was rather small for two people, Nikki managed to step closer to Lisbon and pull the curtain close. She laid one hand on her friends shoulder, looking Lisbon deep in the eye.

"Liz… if it was Mark, you can tell me. I always thought he was more of the… rough sort if you know what I mean. We can go to the police and…"

"What?", Lisbon whispered stunned, "No! Oh no, you got that totally wrong. He'd never do something like that. I really fell all by myself. I'm a bit clumsy sometimes."

Although the woman didn't seem pleased with this explanation, she knew she wouldn't get anything more out of Lisbon for now. "Okay, Liz… You know you can always talk to me if you want to, right?"

"Sure. Thanks", she answered and rubbed her upper arm lightly, because the wound was itching a little.

"Right. Well how about we look after a dress for you which hides the bandage. I think I have the right one in mind…"

"Nikki", Lisbon protested, but her friend just blinked mysteriously, before she left the changing room. Sighing, the agent fished for the zipper on her back and stepped out of the pretty dress. Maybe it was better if she would focus on the whole shopping thing right now instead of letting certain thoughts about her consultant confuse her mind.

* * *

It was early evening, when Lisbon came back from her shopping trip with Nikki, two bags with new clothes in her hand. She never believed certain studies saying shopping would make people happy, because the only thing that helped her to calm down was shooting targets at the shooting range or punching the punching bad in the CBI gym, but today Nikki taught her there was a different method.

Her FBI credit card limit must have certainly been reached after she bought the second dress Nikki made her try on, but there has been this really comfortable blazer, she couldn't just leave in the store.

It was even worse to not spend any money, if your company kept pushing you to buy more and more stuff you actually didn't need.

The people at the FBI would freak out if they got the bill at the end of the month and she'd have to pay them back, but it was worth it. Totally worth it.

Thoughts of Jane and Mancini had vanished out of her head until Nikki had dropped her off in the driveway a few seconds ago. _Well, here we go again_, she thought sighing and wondered what her colleague had been up to all day. Hopefully he wasn't planning anything on "winning" her back. Not that he ever had her.

Lisbon sat her bags down at the front door and searched for her keys in her purse, when the door in front of her opened. Mancini gave her a small smile, before stepping aside leading her in.

"It's good to see you're back. May I?", he asked politely, pointing towards the bags and Lisbon nodded in approval. "I hope you had a good day with Nicole?"

"Yeah. Thanks for asking. Did anything happen during my absence?" Maybe Jane had moved out or managed to get himself killed by pissing some drug boss off without her knowing.

"The report of the police came in this afternoon. If you don't mind, I'd like to talk a few things through with you before you go to the party tomorrow, while I'm meeting my boss."

Oh thank god it was nothing about Jane. "Sure", Lisbon mumbled. She could still feel the distance between them after this morning, but there was no point to her in apologizing just now. Maybe later, after they talked about the stuff concerning the case, or not at all.  
Mancini led her into the kitchen, where she frowned when she saw the laid table. "Gabe..."

"It's nothing, just a light salad with chicken breast, so we can talk over the meal. Please, Teresa, sit down."

Reluctantly, Lisbon let herself fall down on one of the chairs and waited for Mancini to put some of the fresh salad and a roasted chicken breast on her plate. She wasn't that hungry after all, because she had a late lunch with Nikki a few hours ago. But Mancini made so much effort and was so nice, she just couldn't say no to him.

While she was eating, he got a folder with some pictures from the counter and sat down across from her. "It turns out the company area where the arms deal set place belongs to the paper factory of Richard Aaron."

"We saw his name on the containers. We already knew that", Lisbon pointed out.

"I know, just listen. They lost track of the truck who had the arms on, but they found out where the cargo was going to."

"Mexico."

"Exactly. They wanted to swap some of the packages with the paper for the ones containing the arms, so they could be shipped to Mexico in the early morning. There was only one ship in the San Diego harbor which went down to Mexico this morning. Now guess which export company the ship belonged to."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow, not sure if she really wanted to hear the words spoken out loud. "You mean the Brenner's company, do you?"

"I'm afraid yes, Teresa. My people did some research and found out the Aaron's and Brenner's have a long history of working together, shipping cargos from and to Mexico. The Aaron's have most of their paper factory's down in Mexico. We found out that you can press drugs into solid forms so they look just like a sheet of paper. Now if you'd hide one package of pressed drugs, wrapped in the same foliage as the papers, it wouldn't catch anyone's attention at the customs here in the U.S."

"But what about the authorities in Mexico?", the CBI agent asked, feeling a little uncomfortable, since it seemed like two of her "friends" were involved in criminal schemes.

"We all know they are corrupt. Give them some money and they won't say a word. Now, we don't have any proof, it's all just assumptions."

"But it fits if you'd ask me."

Mancini watched her for a second, before nodding carefully. "We have to find proof they are both involved and maybe this will bring us closer to the identity of El Baron. I don't know if they keep record of what they ship there and back, but se have to find _something _we can nail them on. That's where you come in, Teresa."

She couldn't believe of all people Nikki's husband would turn out to be the bad guy. Did she know that her husband was involved in serious drugs and arms deal? Was she even an accomplice? Although she's always been playing the role of "Liz Smith", Lisbon had somehow become close to good friends with the woman.

"You want me to find something tomorrow", Lisbon said reluctantly, "I'll see what I can do."

"There will be so many people at the party, no one would notice if you vanish for an hour or so. We're close, Teresa, closer to them than we were in two years."

She laid her cutlery down on the plate and pushed her chair back: "I know, Gabe. Like I said, I'll see what I can do tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. If you'll excuse me now, I'd like to go upstairs."

"Just one last thing", he said, holding her back by grabbing her uninjured arm, "I'm sorry."

Lisbon had a hard time to not just roll her eyes and storm off. She tried to stay calm and took a deep breath: "If this is about the kiss, I..."

"No, it's not. I'm not sorry that I kissed you, Teresa. If you'd let me, I would kiss you right now again." Her eyes widened in shock and she made the attempt to take a step back. _Oh please don't!_

"I won't do it though. What I wanted to say is that I'm sorry, because it seems like I can't give you want you want."

It was hard to admit the truth, but Mancini was right. The things she wanted seemed to be farer away than ever before. There was no point in trying to act like everything was fine right now.

"Nobody can", Lisbon whispered, before she made her way towards the stairs.

* * *

The next day came rather quickly. Mancini had to leave early in the morning, to keep up their plan of him being on a business meeting all day in San Diego. In truth, he was just meeting his boss and some other colleagues late in the evening, to talk the case through and what they were supposed to do next.

His absence was welcoming for Lisbon, who'd enjoyed the day all by herself, spending some time in the pool before dressing up for Nikki's party. Although she took her time, she was finished early with hair, makeup and everything else.

Watching herself in the huge mirror on one of her closets, Lisbon decided she looked good. Her dress was made out of soft blood red fabric, which felt very comfortable in her skin. Although it was rather short, covering her tights just so much she it wouldn't reveal any intimate parts, it had long tight sleeves to cover her injury on the left upper arm.

Usually, Lisbon was no such person to hide the injuries she'd gotten while being on duty, but after Nikki had been so suspicious, it was better to cover the tracks than answering weird questions later on the party. The whole "falling against a sharp stoned wall" was as stupid as it sound if she had to admit it.

She turned around, to check if everything was in place and didn't remember the back of her dress was _so _low cut. Her whole back was bare, showing _much_ more skin than it had in the changing rooms. There was no way she could wear a bra underneath the dress and even her panties were dangerously close of sneaking out at the hem of her dress. She wouldn't take them off though, because she was not _that kind_ of woman.

Carefully, Lisbon pushed her wavy hair out of her face and fastened one side with a bobby pin, only to add a pretty small glittering comb she'd bought the day before. One last line with the cherry lipstick and her outfit was perfect. Maybe dressing up for a party wasn't as lame as she always thought. Not if she was wearing _this_.

Sighing, the agent stepped back, grabbing the little purse she'd prepared, containing her phone, some make up and a black mini pistol, she'd carefully hidden down on the bottom of the purse. Some people may think it was ridiculous, but she always felt safer with a gun and since there was no chance in hiding the gun somewhere on her body, the purse had to do it.

A quick look on the clock told her, the party wouldn't start for another half hour, so instead of waiting 30 minutes before she could take the car and ride off to Nikki's, Lisbon decided she could easily walk the distance and explore the neighbourhood a little.

* * *

The music was so loud; Lisbon could already hear it when she approached the driveway of Nikki's villa. To her own surprise she had to admit, even Jane's house looked like a piece of cheap crap in comparison to the huge building in front of her. If she wouldn't know better, the two little oriels made it almost look like a mini version of a castle.

A neatly dressed butler standing outside the front door opened her cheerfully, explaining her the way to the huge backyard, where the party set place. Not that Lisbon wouldn't have found it on her own. Everywhere were people she'd seen at the spa or on Jane's party, mixed with other's she didn't know.

The great entrance hall with the red carpet on the marmoreal floor was decorated with all sorts of heavenly smelling flowers, while the huge crystal candelabrum on the ceiling put the room in a golden light. It took a lot for Lisbon, to not stop in the middle of the room staring at the beautiful little details like the drawings on the walls in the golden frames or the colourfully glazed doors.

The building was overwhelming. How was she supposed to find any kind of proof here, without looking through every single room in this house? It'd take days for her to find the right office or some hind of secret safe. Not that she could open that one anyways. It was easier said than done to find information about the drug and arms deal they suspected here now.

To calm herself down, she grabbed a half full glass with champagne from one of the waiters who were going around making sure the guests kept drinking. Although Lisbon was strictly against alcohol on the job, she needed to feel the taste of the delicious bubbling drink in her mouth. God this stuff was good.

She made her way through some other rooms, before she entered an area which must be the living room - or at least used to be. The doors to the yard were wide open, so it connected the terrace with the house. A live band was playing on a little platform right next to the pool, in front of an area with laid out parquet floor. People were dancing, twirling around and around, laughing, having fun... Yes, this was the perfect party.

"Liz!", someone exclaimed, so Lisbon turned around to see who'd called her. Rebecca staggered towards her, a cocktail glass in her hand with a liquid that seemed to look suspiciously like Nikki's famous "Carmel Death".

"Rebecca", she answered smiling, reaching towards her friend to steady her walk, "It's nice to see you here."

"It's nice to see you!", the woman giggled, drinking another sip of her cocktail, "You look so freaking sexy." The agent raised an eyebrow, not sure what to answer to that. "Oopsie. I think I'm a little drunk."

Lisbon smiled shaking her head in disbelieve. The party just started and Rebecca was already drunk. "It's okay, Becks. Thank you. You look good, too. Do you know where Nikki is?"

"She's dancing with Patrick", Rebecca said pointing towards the dance floor and started to giggle again: "God he's so hot. If I weren't married, I'd take him. If the way he dances says anything about his sex life..."

"Yeah, thank you!", Lisbon interrupted her. She really didn't want to hear anything more about that topic. What was he even doing here? Nikki hadn't told her she invited him too although she knew Lisbon didn't want to see him. In spite of everything, the agent was still curious what her consultant was doing at the party, so she stepped outside, to get a better look at the dancing area.

The music was loud and quick. It didn't take long to find said couple on the dance floor. People were desperately trying to get out of their way, some even stopped dancing and enjoyed watching them twirling around. They made quite the impression on other dancers.

Rolling her eyes, Lisbon crossed her arms in front of her chest. Of course they would look good and their dancing would be perfect. When would anything Jane did _not_ be freaking perfect. The only time Jane and she had ever danced an intimate dance with each other, was limited to the High School Reunion a few years back to the sound of her favourite love song _More Than Words_. Everything had been different back then.

When the last tunes of the music sounded, people started to applaud and either leave the dance floor or waited for the next song to begin with. In this case, Nikki hugged Jane cheerfully, while another woman who'd been waiting like forever approached Jane and asked for the next dance. Jane let his gaze sweep around the area, making a surprised face, when he met Lisbon's eyes for a short amount of time. His lips formed a thin line and his face darkened a little.

The agent took a deep breath before cutting off their connection and went over to Nikki, who was walking towards the open aired bar. "Hey, Nikki!"

Confused, the woman turned around: "Liz? I'm so glad you came. You look amazing. i knew the dress would suit you. See? It hides your injury perfectly. How about you sit down here with me and we have a drink? I just come from the dance floor. It's so hot here."

"I know, I saw you", Lisbon mumbled but took the seat next to her friend. Since she knew at least Nikki's husband was involved in criminal scheming, she tried to bring a little more distance between them. Nikki didn't seem to notice at all or was a good enough actress to dub it.

"Come on, honey. Have a drink! Alex, two _Carmel Deaths_ for us. We have to get my friend into the fitting mood for the party!" The barkeeper did as asked and a about a minute later, both women had a nicely decorated cocktail glass in front of them.

"Cheers", they said at the same time, grinning and taking a sip of the cocktail. Lisbon felt the bitter taste of the alcohol and had to admit this _Carmel Death_ wasn't nearly half as good as the one Nikki made her at Jane's party. As if the woman could read her thoughts, she pushed the glass back on the bar, making a face.

"Hell Alex, you need a lot more practice until you get it perfect. This one here sucks!"

The cheeks of the young barkeeper flushed crimson and he took the cocktails back, taking some time to make a new one step by step as the instruction said. Nikki leaned over to Lisbon, nodding with her head towards the dance floor: "You never told me Patrick was such a good dancer."

"Yeah... there's nothing he can't do", Lisbon muttered, "You didn't tell me he was coming."

"I didn't see the point in telling you. Where's the problem, it's not like anyone forces the two of you to talk to each other. Would you have stayed at home if you knew? I thought you were over him."

"I _am_ over him", the agent pointed out, "I'd have just liked to know. Never mind. It's a great party, Nikki."

Nikki wiped her hair out of her face smiling gratefully: "Thank you. You know, throwing parties is kind of my thing. I had a lot of practise over the years. Oh, look who comes our way and can't take his eyes off you..."

Lisbon turned around, seeing a tall dark haired man in a casual suit combination approaching them, a glass of champagne in his hand. He smiled at both of them, giving Nikki a short peek on the cheek as a friendly hello.

"If that's not the hostess herself. And who's your beautiful friend, Nikki?", he asked with a light Irish accent, his gaze lingering on Lisbon. He grabbed her hand carefully, giving her a light kiss on the back, before he pressed it softly and let go. Somehow she had the feeling this guy was just undressing her with her eyes, which made her lightly blush. If she would have been all alone, out in Sacramento after duty, this guy would have been the perfect type for a one night stand.

Too bad in real life, she was pretending to be a married rich girl whose husband was out of town for the night.

"This is my good friend Liz. Liz, meet Mr. Nathan McGellar." Lisbon nodded friendly towards the man who's already greeted her with the hand kiss.

"Now Nikki, I came for a more than selfish reason. Would you mind if I would take away your dear friend for a dance? I promise to bring her back."

Nikki laughed, waving her hand to show him she didn't care at all: "Of course. Well, if Liz wants to." Two pairs of eyes looked in her direction, looking for her approval.

"Sure, why not", Lisbon mumbled and grabbed his offered hand, to let him lead her towards the crowded dance floor, just right in time since the band started a new song.

"I'm not that good of a dancer", Lisbon admitted quietly, while Nathan brought them in the right position. His hands were cold on her naked back, which made her shiver a little.

"We'll see. Just let me guide you and I can show you how good the two of us can be", he whispered in her ear and pressed her body closer to his. Lisbon mentally rolled her eyes. Hell this man had more self-esteem than Mashburn and Jane together!

They made a few steps together, Nathan guiding their way over the dance floor. She couldn't deny he was a good dancer, but the fact his hand was lingering a little too low on her waist than necessary, Lisbon loosened one hand to bring his hand back in place.

They found their rhythm to the quick beat of the music, managing to attract interested views from other dancing couples. The agent would have enjoyed the dance, if his hand would stop moving lower and lower, until it finally landed on her butt, just when the song ended.

"Thank you for the dance", Lisbon told him stiffly, removing his hand from her bottom, turning around to leave.

"Oh come on, Liz! I didn't mean it that way", he remarked amused, rushing after her. When he grabbed her injured upper arm to hold her back from walking away, Lisbon flinched painfully, gritting her teeth. "I felt the spark between the two of us. So why don't we go upstairs? I'm sure Nikki has a room for the two of us."

It took a lot, to not just punch the man in the face for the outrageous offer he just made. "Well I don't think so, _Mr. McGellar._ My husband wouldn't approve. If you'll excuse me now, I have somewhere to be."

With this she stormed off towards the house, meeting Nikki halfway, who was giving her a raised eyebrow. "Thanks for setting me off with this idiot! You knew he was going to hit on me, didn't you?"

"That's just him", Nikki grinned, taking a sip of her cocktail, "Don't be offended, Liz. He's offended by your turn down and will try to hit on others. It's fun to watch him being turned down."

"Still, you could have warned me. Could you tell me where the restrooms are? I have to fresh me up a little after _this_."

The woman pointed towards the living-room: "You know what? Because I tricked you into dancing with Mr. Jackass, why don't you use my private bathroom upstairs? Just go inside, take the stairs and then it's the fifth room on the right hand side."

"Uh... sure", Lisbon mumbled surprised and put up a light smile after she realized this was just her chance to snoop around the house.

* * *

She went inside, leaving the laughter and conversations of the guests behind while climbing up the stairs. A darkened corridor reached to her left and right side, tipped with many large doors. Since she didn't know what she was looking for exactly, she tried the door right in front of her, which lead her into some kind of neat tidied up library with a green carpet and two thick leather chairs at the window.

Would someone hide information between books? No, someone could grab it, or a housemaid could accidentally stumble over it. It was much too obvious. If she were to hide information, she'd put it in some kind of a safe in a room only a few people had entrance to. An office for example.

For a quick moment Lisbon thought about if Jane would approve her train of thought, since he was the master of human behavior. But she was a good investigator herself and since no one seemed to miss her after she turned down Nathan's offer, she might have plenty of time now.

Two bathrooms, three bedrooms and something which looked like a broom closet later, she finally found a room looking like an office, with a dark woodened desk, shelves with books and folders, a computer and... of course a huge flat screen above a fire place.

Like downstairs, the room had pictures in golden frames on the wall. A handmade portrait drawing of Nikki was the centre of everything. Wasn't it some kind of cliché that the drug boss had a portrait of his girl in the office? Well, nothing was proven until now, she reminded herself. Alone for the sake of her friends, she hoped it was all just bad coincidence, because she didn't want them to get hurt... If they were clueless of course.

Closing the door behind her back, she was glad the dim light falling through the windows was bright enough to see most of the room, so she didn't have to lit a lamp and attract anyone's attention from outside.

_Now, if I were a drug boss, where would I hide information about my dirty business?_ Looking around in the room, Lisbon first tried out some of the folders in the shelves. They all were numbered and ordered, but for what she could see, it was all just normal stuff, nothing which attracted her attention. Then she checked the desk, opened the drawers and even looked for secret hiding places, like they were always in the movies. Nothing.

"Damn it", she mumbled annoyed. There must be _something_ here; she couldn't just let this opportunity down.

Just when she was taking a closer look at the fireplace, she heard the doorknob turn. Panic rose inside her. If one saw her sniffing around it'd look suspicious and if Nikki found out their whole under cover operation was over. Lisbon hid behind one of the huge curtains at the window, just in time when the door opened.

The intruder didn't say anything and it was difficult to see through the thick fabric of the curtains. Eventually she could hear him sigh and coming closer to her direction.

_Oh no, please no..._ Lisbon could feel him stop right in front of her. Everything was over now. For a second she just closed her eyes like she did when she was younger, to pretend she was somewhere else, but it wasn't helping at all.

The curtain was pulled aside and Lisbon almost let out a shriek. "Really, Lisbon? Hiding behind a curtain? How old are you, four?"

She pressed her hand on her hammering heart, taking a few deeps breaths to steady herself from the shock. The situation would have been kind of funny if there wasn't the fact she was angry with Jane for a dozen things.

"What the hell are you doing here?!", she hissed, pushing him lightly away so she could bring some space between them. The man had never bothered with respecting her comfort zone and until now, neither had she.

"I could ask you the same question", Jane smirked, turning around and walking over to the huge desk to sit in the comfortable looking leather office chair. "Well, Lisbon, this thing is pretty good. You should consider buying one for your office and you'd get rid of your permanent little back pain from working late into the night."

"You didn't answer my question, Jane. What are you doing here? I swear, either you leave now, or..."

"Or what, Lisbon? You'll shoot me? Oh please, don't be ridiculous. People would hear the shot and come looking. How would you explain that to them?"

Lisbon stepped closer, honestly considering to pull the gun out of her purse and getting serious, but Jane was right, she couldn't shoot him, not here, not now. "Very funny, Jane, really."

For a second they just stared at one another, unspoken feelings showing in each face. Eventually, Lisbon sighed: "Since you won't leave until I told you why I'm here, I should just get it over with."

"Oh, I know why you're here. Still, it's very generous of you to consider telling me." The ironic undertone in his voice made Lisbon ball her hands to fists. "Anyways, you're looking for proof if Nikki's husband is involved in the drugs and arms deal we witnessed yesterday night."

Instead of asking how the hell Jane knew about something like that, she saved her energy and just nodded: "You mean the deal you messed up? Why are you really here, Jane?"

"Well, I figured you could use some help since I know how you like to miss the most obvious things." That one hurt and he knew it.

Lisbon might be band in things concerning her social life sometimes, but if she was proud of one thing, then that she was a damn good cop who did good work. Minelli wouldn't have assigned the jurisdiction of a whole team to her.

"Are you criticizing my work?", she asked offended, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I'm not criticizing your work, Lisbon." He explained amused, stood up and took a close look on the shelf with the folders, before he pulled out one and laid it on the desk, "I'm criticizing your methods when it comes to the obvious. Look into this folder and you'll find what you're looking for."

"There is a reason why people stick to rules, Jane." Although she'd hated him for his last remark concerning her job abilities, she snippily grabbed the folder to look inside. She paged through the whole folder, looking critically over the information.

"Tell me, which drug boss would keep a detailed record of his transactions so obviously hidden in a simple folder here in the office, where everyone has access too it? Look, it's nothing. Copies of delivery notes. So much for '_You'll find what you're looking for' _!", Lisbon imitated him, "Pah!"

Snapping the folder shut, she but it back on the desk, watching her consultant with a raised eyebrow.

"I know there's something inside this folder! Are you requesting _my_ methods now?", he asked coldly.

"Well yes, sometimes I do!", she snapped, continuing sarcastically, "Not everything is as easy as it seems to be for you. How would you know there is something in this folder that helps us to solve the case?"

"Because I have a hunch", the consultant answered simply. This folder looked a little different than the others, it was smaller and was also written in a different handwriting. He could be wrong, but he was 99% sure he wasn't.

"Oh, the same hunch as you had yesterday when you decided to crush the arms deal, get yourself and your friend nearly killed and messed up our undercover operation? Great _hunches_ you have there."

Jane shot her a cold glance. "If you would take a look on our closed case records, tell me one time where one of my hunches hadn't brought us to the killer."

"This is not about closed case records, Jane! This is about the fact that you keep putting yourself and others constantly in danger. I'm glad the bullet her just hit my arm and not my chest or my head", the agent said, pointing on the spot where her bandages were, "I hope it was worth it and you had your fun."

His eyes lingered for a second on her upper arm, before they went back on Lisbon's face. He was sorry, because his actions almost got Hillary killed and Lisbon injured. She was right, there could have happened something pretty worse, but they had been lucky. "I never intended to hurt you, Lisbon."

She could hear the honesty in his voice and part of her wanted to believe him, but the other part was still furious. "Then I don't know why you keep doing it, Jane. In the past months you have been doing nothing but hurting me and I have to be honest, I don't know how much more of it I can take."

His lips were pressed into two thin lines, the fitting answer to her words on the tip of his tongue, but Lisbon continued. "Do you sometimes even think about what your actions do to me? Seeing you going mad every time Red John jumps in the picture, seeing you leaving me for six months to Vegas without a message, without a text? I didn't even know if you were still alive! Not to forget your whole obsession with Lorelei. First you slept with her, then you..."

"Oh here we go", Jane cut in, rolling his eyes on her, "Now I know what this whole thing is about. You're such a hypocrite, Lisbon! Being mad with me, because I slept with Lorelei, but it's okay that you slept with Mancini!"

"Lorelei is the mistress of a serial killer! You can't compare that", Lisbon shouted angrily.

"Oh I _can_ compare that! How do you know Mancini is not one of Red John's minions, too?"

"I don't!"

"Then don't play this card on me, because it's worth nothing. You keep on telling me how I hurt you and I'm sorry for that, but you never - not even for one second - ask how I am feeling with all of this."

For a second Lisbon hold her breath when she saw the hurt and regret flashing up in his eye, but she knew it was necessary for both of them, to finish this conversation and bring it to an end, even if it hurt. Otherwise the unspoken things would be always between them.

Jane stepped around the desk so he finally stood in front of her, holding a respectable distance.

"It's because you never tell me anything!", she complained, "We're supposed to be partners, we're supposed to trust each other!"

"And you lost your trust in me", he assessed.

"I don't know, Jane, I honestly don't know. One time I think I figured you out and a moment later... The only thing that I know is I can't live with how it is now, I just can't. I can't trust you when it comes to Lorelei, I can't trust you, when it comes to Red John..."

"Why do you keep making everything about _her_?!", he asked loudly. Didn't she understand Lorelei was just a means to an end, that she was collateral damage to him? The woman was supposed to bring him closer to Red John and nothing else.

"Because you're in love with her!" Lisbon didn't manage to surprise him often, but this time he just stood there, stunned, looking at the petite brunette in front of him.

"What?"

"You're in love with her! She was the first woman you slept with after your wife died, you kissed her in the interrogation room, you act like a maniac because the FBI hid her away from you, you..."

She had no time to finish, given the fact Jane grabbed her by her shoulders and pressed his lips on her mouth to silence her stupid argumentation. Her lips were sweet and soft, just as he had always imagined in those late nights alone up in the attic. It was almost like he'd dreamed it, almost. One single thing was missing: The woman wasn't responding.

Carefully, he broke apart to watch her startled face. With her eyes wide open, and her lips lightly apart, she looked as cute as beautiful. Had he done something wrong? Well, there was no denying he did, he'd just hoped her response to be a little... different. They stood in silence, both a little stunned about what just happened, before Lisbon blinked for the first time.

Jane wanted to say something, wanted to apologize for kissing her, but now it was Lisbon, who slung her arms around his neck and pulled him down to the kiss he'd later wish had been their first.

She opened her mouth to let him in, their tongues engaging in a sweet game of touching, exploring and tasting. Her eyes were closed, so were his, but when she let out a sudden moan, expressing how much she liked what he did, Jane had to open them.

Lisbon looked so beautiful, ravishing. She tasted so sweet, like the champagne she drank before and he could smell a hint of cinnamon from her perfume, her shower gel or whatever she used to smell heavenly like this.

The only time they broke apart was when the need for air became too great. Their lips were like little magnet though, immediately searching again for each other.

He felt her shiver, when he wrapped his arms around her, touching her bare delicate back he'd been eyeing the minute he saw her. Jane turned their bodies, so Lisbon was pressed against the desk. With one hand, he pushed the folder away and lifted her upon it, standing between her spread legs and pressing their bodies closer. her hand were grabbing his arm muscles, holding him so hard it almost hurt, as if she was afraid he'd just stop and go.

Another moan escaped her throat, which drove him wild. He could feel her back muscles twitch when he started to leave light touches on the bare skin.

The build up pressure in his chest was suddenly gone. After all those years the thing he most feared happened: He fell in love with her. Jane had always known this day would come, but he'd always expected it to be after he killed Red John - if he didn't get himself killed in the act, too.

Now he was standing there, kissing her, _touching _her... It was unbelievable and felt so _good._

Someone pushed the door open and switched the light on, to lighten up the dim room: "Oops, sorry guys! Just pretend I wasn't here!" It closed again just when Lisbon and Jane broke apart breathing heavily. They didn't see who the intruder was, but the interruption brought them back to reality.

"Oh god", whispered Lisbon, shoving him aside and jumping off the desk to straighten her dress.

"Lisbon", Jane said, reaching out for her, but she kept going backwards.

"No. No, no, no, no... I... I have to go...", she mumbled, somehow sounding afraid and left the room with Jane still standing in front of the desk where they just made out.

Usually he was used to women running _after_ him, not women running away from him, he thought with a smirk on his face. Jane closed his eyes and touched his lips, still feeling hers on them. They kissed. After all this time, they finally kissed and he didn't regret it. He wasn't sure with Lisbon though.

Her running away never was a good sign, but he figured she just needed some time to process things, so did he. He'd bring up the subject later, because now they really had to talk.

* * *

A/N: YAYYY they kissed! LOL I so hope I can say that after tomorrow's episode *sigh* I won't give up my hopes ;) What do you think about everything?

Please feel free to write a review, I always love to hear your thoughts :)

Now, I wish all of you a happy The Mentalist Season Finale! We have to stick together, guys :)

Liefs


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Finally! I'm so sorry for the delay but I had internal family problms and serious writersblock... all the things you don't need if you want to write a new chapter of your FF.  
Thank you all so much for your reviews. Especially for the guest reviewers! Thanks for making the effort and writing a review! As always, I'm blown away by all your support :) I'm so happy that you like the story and I hope the new chapter makes up for the long wait!

Have fun!

* * *

(10)

Ten more minutes and it was time to finally go home, Lisbon decided after lounging at the bar for about one and a half hours, turning down every invitation to dance and drinks by showing off her fake wedding band. This thing was quite practical, especially when she couldn't concentrate on anything but the kiss she and Jane had shared.

The Kiss. This damn stupid, but pretty good kiss. She'd tried to drown the image in a few shots of Tequila and even two of Nikki's famous Carmel Deaths, but instead of shooing the memory away, it became even more present in her head. So after becoming a little too tipsy for her taste, she made the only good decision since she came here and settled on water instead.

Thank god no one tried to make conversation with her, because she really wasn't in the mood to talk. To be honest, the only thing she wanted to do was kick Jane in the ass for kissing her like this. He didn't seem to care, if she took a look on the dance floor, where there was almost a queue waiting at the side and women fighting over how was the next one to dance with him.

_Jane never had any problems with denial_, Lisbon thought, right in opposite to her. She thought so much about things it made her sick. It wasn't very different with what happened in the office of Nikki's husband.

If the person hadn't interrupted them, who knew what would have happened next? Images of him kissing the soft spot on her bare neck and pushing the dress down her shoulder started flooding her mind. His lips were so soft... she could still feel them ghosting upon hers.

Shaking her head, Lisbon took a sip of the cool water to bring her mind back to reality. Why was she imagining things like this? The worst thing wasn't that he kissed her, but that she kissed him back. Hell, she should have pushed him away after the first kiss, when he tried to silence her instead of kissing him back the second time.

If she was honest to herself, they would have ended up having a quickie on the desk if Jane would have wanted it, because all her morals went over board the second his lips met hers. Now, Lisbon should thank whoever it was who popped into the office, because this brought her back to reality.

Why didn't she punch him? This would have been the perfect opportunity for all the crap he pulled in the last week. No, instead she did what she could do best. Run. Run away from her problems, denying that she had them to the public, but getting crazy over them in her mind. God, she was a total mess.

Sighing, the agent ordered another glass of sparkling water and watched the dance floor for a few moments. Jane was dancing with another woman. Tall, blonde - just like most of the women here - but they looked pretty together. Who was she trying to kid. This kiss meant more to her than she wanted to admit. It was the same thing with the "Love you", he'd said months ago, before he "shot" her.

She should stop going crazy over things Patrick Jane said and did because he wasn't serious about any of them if they didn't concern Red John or his minions, for example Lorelei. Jane hadn't told her he slept with her and now he kissed her after she accused him of being in love with her. Was the kiss just another method to silence her when words weren't enough?

Watching him on the dance floor, looking careless and enjoying himself, Lisbon wasn't sure what to think anymore. Sadness rose up in her chest, when she remembered the last time they danced three years ago at the High School Reunion after finishing a case.

Right then, Jane turned the woman he was dancing with around, so he had free view to the bar Lisbon was sitting at. Their eyes met for about five long seconds, before Lisbon turned around again, grabbing a salty pretzel stick and nibbling it in silence.

She should have never agreed to accompany Mancini on this damn undercover mission. Her life had been difficult enough, but now it became even worse. Denial had always been an option, but after the kiss, the only thing she could do now was talk about it with him or try to ban Jane out of her life, no matter how much it hurt her heart. Maybe it was better to make a clear break.

She could give the case to the FBI. They already had it last year, but maybe this time Jane would go too, to achieve the only thing he truly wanted. Revenge for his dead family. He didn't care about her and she cared too much, because she loved him.

Almost dropping the peanut she wanted to put into her mouth, she stared at her glass for a moment, watching the bubbles going up through the water into the air. Had she just admitted to herself that she loved him? This was not good, this was completely wrong. She... she mustn't love him!

Oh no, this was such a huge mess, this was... "A double shot Tequila, please", she ordered. The barkeeper poured her the double shot of Tequila without questioning it and she was so very thankful for that.

_I love him_, Lisbon repeated in her head, letting them sound different every time she thought them. As much as she wanted to deny it, she loved him so much it hurt sometimes and love wasn't a feeling she could switch off.

So much for banning Patrick Jane out of her head and sight. Damn him, damn her heart and damn the alcohol for making her think harder about him with each shot. Now that she admitted it, all the pieces fell together. This was the reason why she kept standing up for him, why she always forgave him for the most stupid things and why she didn't even hesitate to fake her own death to trick a serial killer.

Love made people do the silliest things – always had and always would. But where was the point in hoping for dreams that would never come true? Jane made it clear over the years; the only thing he cared about was revenge on Red John. He'd never give it up for her and told her more than one time that one – or both of them – would die.

She'd said it before and would say it again. Her life was a complete mess and always was and always would be. Just when she thought she brought everything in order, she messed up again. This time was not any different from all the other ones.

"Would you like to dance?" someone asked behind her.

Lisbon was about to say no, when she saw Jane stepping up beside her, watching her with a mixed expression.

"Don't you have enough women waiting for a dance with you? They'd be pretty disappointed if you'd ask someone like me for the next dance", the agent answered with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Someone like her? What did she mean with someone like her? She was the most desirable woman at this stupid party, so why did she question his judgement?

Jane wrinkled his nose when he smelled the alcohol in Lisbon's breath, so he took her glass and put it behind the bar. "No more alcohol for the lady here, she had enough", he told the bar keeper. Alcohol made people say and do the silliest things, so no wonder she believed he'd take other women over her, like he did with Lorelei.

Lorelei was and always would be a means to an end and nothing more. He was here now instead of planning how to break her out of prison wasn't he? So why was the woman still questioning him?

"It's none of your business Jane", Lisbon mumbled without too much protest, since she knew he was right with the alcohol. Still, she hated when he started patronizing her with simple things such as if she had enough alcohol or not.

Jane sighed, watching her absently chewing on the rest of her salty pretzel stick. He moved closer to her ear, so only she could hear what was spoken between the two of them. "Instead of sitting here in pity because of what happened in the office, you could move and give me this one dance, Teresa. Please."

Teresa. He'd called her Teresa. He only called her Teresa if he really wanted her to do something for him _or_ play a part in one of his schemes.

Jane's lips touched her cheek lightly and she was glad her dress had long sleeves, because she could feel goose bumps all over her upper body. The agent watched him for a moment, shuddering, before she got off her chair: "One dance, then I'll go home. And don't you dare to try anything funny, because this time I _will _kick your ass."

"Such language, my dear", he laughed relieved she agreed on his offer. She'd been drowning in her misery long enough, but this was for Lisbon. She always thought too much about things she shouldn't worry her pretty little head about. Most of the time it was his fault, that he admitted, but he couldn't take back what happened in the past. Neither the thing with Lorelei nor the kiss. Not that he ever would, at least when it concerned the latter. This kiss had woken up feelings inside of him he'd been suppressing for a long time.

When it came to Lisbon, sometimes his body did other things than his mind told him to do. Patrick Jane was a man of pure control, but the woman in front of him had her ways to drive him crazy in ways he never could have imagined. When he found her in the office, the last intention he had was ending up kissing her. Now he was glad he'd done it, especially since Lisbon had kissed him back and he now knew his feelings weren't one-sided.

* * *

Jane lead the way to the dance floor, taking her hand in his, watching the women who have been waiting for him getting mad with jealousy. None of them could ever compete with the petite brunette firecracker in his arms, he thought smirking.

When the first beats of the music sounded and the singer stepped on the stage, Lisbon stopped, watching Jane with her big green eyes. She knew this song by heart, every line, every tone… and the most cherishing memory she ever connected with it was suddenly present in her head.

"This is…", she mumbled stunned, not sure what to do.

"Your favourite song", the consultant smiled, "I know. Do you remember the last time we danced to it?"

… She watched him for a moment, before she nodded slowly. How could she forget the last time they danced to "More Than Words", had it been in her mind the whole night.

How many times had she wished for them to relive this moment together and made up the weirdest outcomes in her fantasies.

Jane smiled knowingly as if he could read her thoughts but although she knew he couldn't, Lisbon's cheeks flushed crimson, while the thoughts in her head were running in circles. Why was he doing this to her? Why was he torturing her heart even more than she thought was possible?

Firs the kiss, now the song and the dance… "You did this on purpose", Lisbon stated, "the problem is, I really don't know why…"

"Perhaps you could just enjoy it, like you did the last time. I swear I won't ask you which instrument you played in High School again." This actually made her smile a little. It was one of the few things she's kept from him over the years. He already had guessed the right instrument of course, but she wouldn't tell him that.

Although Lisbon was still not sure why exactly Jane was doing this whole dance thing, she stepped towards him a little stiffly and got into a standard dancing position.

Jane grinned when he felt her resistance. This woman was still thinking too much in spite of the alcohol. Hadn't he made his intentions clear when he kissed in the office?

He pulled Lisbon a little closer to his body, one hand on her hip, his fingers touching some skin of her bare neck, the other one holding her small hand, watching every movement of her face when she tried to avoid his gaze.

"Relax, Lisbon. Just let me guide you", Jane whispered and they started to sway slowly over the floor.

After Lisbon still tried to let a professional distance remain between them, Jane rolled his eyes and pulled her as close as possible. She gave up after a while, resting her head on his shoulder. He gave her the feeling of being protected, like she could let her guard down and just be herself for once.

Somehow they wound up with her arms around his neck, while his hands were locked around her waist, touching the warm skin of her bare back, both of them more than relaxed. If he had to guess, Lisbon had closed her eyes a while ago, enjoying the song and the dance.

His arms were strong, holding her close like a precious treasure, no intention of letting go anytime soon. She fit like no one else did, as if his arms were only made to hold her in this position. Lisbon was his, his and no one else's, that was for sure. He'd sworn he'd tell her… soon, because she needed time to process things developing between them.

Jane smiled when he heard her sigh silently and rested his cheek upon her head, breathing in the delicious scent of her shampoo mixed with perfume and a hint of alcohol, coming from the tequilas she drunk before. Maybe it wasn't so bad that she was a little tipsy. It made things easier between them.

He had to tell her somehow, they had to talk about everything. There were so many misunderstandings between them, no wonder Lisbon thought he was in love with Lorelei. A ridiculous thought, but how could she know? He hadn't been very forthcoming after his return from Las Vegas, only focusing on his revenge instead of the one thing, which was really important in his life. Her

This didn't mean that he'd stop looking for Red John, but after the serial killer had asked for her head, he realized there were so many chances already lost, it'd be a waste of time to wait any longer.

He owed the band fifty bucks for making them play some kind of extended version of the song, which lasted more than ten minutes. When the end was near, the consultant decided to become a little more risky and let his hands glide down over her waistline, but not deep enough to cup her buttocks.

"I was serious when I said I'd kick your ass if you tried anything funny. You're right about to cross the line." Lisbon whispered with a hint of amusement in her voice. She didn't seem to mind, at least not really.

"After all these years, you should have learned that I'm never one to play by the books, my dear."

Lisbon raised her head and smiled. Their faces were so close, she could easily close the gap between them and kiss him again, but this time they were in public. They had a role to play and it would look suspicious if she'd kiss her "ex" with a husband sitting at home – or rather in San Diego, talking to his boss about the case. Word would go around fast, so this dance already was pretty risky for them.

Another problem was the fact they hadn't talked anything out yet. They had been in the middle of a fight when he silenced her with that kiss, followed by a hot make-out session on the desk. This thought brought her back to reality. What were they doing?

Having a romantic dance just like they were a couple, while there was still the elephant in the room, this was so wrong. This was no movie where the main characters would come together after confessing their love and live happily ever after. They hadn't even confessed their love to each other, they had just kissed!

She cleared her throat and stepped away from him, loosening her arms around his neck and escaping the warmth of his body.

"Thank you for the dance, Jane, but I think it's time for me to go home", she mumbled awkwardly, kneading her hands nervously.

"You can't drive drunk", Jane insisted, grabbing her wrist when she tried to escape him, "Let me drive you home. Please."

"I'm not drunk!"

"You had more than ten shots of tequila, my dear. Even if your limit is higher than those of other people, you shouldn't drive now", he said. Hadn't her mother died because of a drunk driver?

"I didn't take the car, Jane", she reassured him, "I can walk the distance, so there's no need to drive me." The truth was, she needed time alone to think.

"But I don't want you to walk alone through the streets at night in this ravishing outfit." It was true. Seeing her in this outfit made the most honourable man become a slave of his lower instincts.

Lisbon cracked a smile, touched by his concern. She leaned forward, so people could not overhear them talking: "I'm still a cop, Jane. Although your concern about my wellbeing is very sweet, I think I'm capable of walking the distance." Even if the shoes would kill her, but she wouldn't say that out loud.

Jane's lips formed a thin line, but he let her wrist go. "Then please let me accompany you on your walk."

"I need some time alone, Jane, so don't make this any harder on me than it already is. I have to think about tonight, about everything. I'll see you later, okay?"

He wasn't pleased with her answer, but he knew pressuring her was the wrong path in the game of winning her heart. Lisbon needed time, though time was the one thing they didn't have. Watching her saying goodbye to Nikki, who shot him a knowing glance after Lisbon was gone, made him feel uncomfortable.

* * *

After a few of the drunk single woman spied him being alone again, wanting to dance, he excused himself from the party, taking his baby blue Citroën to drive home to his house instead.

About half a mile later, he saw a familiar frame walking barefoot on the sidewalk next to the street. Lisbon must have gotten rid of her shoes after leaving the house. She was only the occasional high heel wearer, so after a few hours her feet always hurt like hell, that much he knew.

Debating whether or not to reduce his speed, Lisbon made the decision for him by turning around, waving at him.

Taking a deep breath, Jane wound the window of the passenger side down, trying to remain casual: "Need a ride?"

"You've been following me", Lisbon pointed out, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

Jane shrugged. He could deny it, but where was the point? "I saw no reason to stay longer at the party when the only woman whose presence I truly cherish decided to go home. So... Do you want to ride home with me or not? I happen to drive into your direction." She hesitated a second, before she sighed and opened the door of his vehicle.

"Where are your shoes?", the consultant asked. He thought she'd took them off, but they were no where in sight. When her cheeks flushed, Jane raised an eyebrow: "What happened?"

"I… stumbled and broke my heel. Nothing happened, okay? I threw them into the next bush and walked on without shoes. So much for Nikki's theory that quality comes with a price."

"You could have called me."

"Because of a broken heel? Jane, this is ridiculous. It happened two minutes ago and then I heard your excuse of a car coming my way, so where was the point? I'm a grown woman, I don't freak out over a broken heel", she said pointing towards the road, "You want to get going or not?"

"Not freaking out over a broken heel but a little kiss. A grown woman you are", Jane muttered under his breath, his lips forming a thin line immediately because he'd actually said it out loud.

Next to him, Lisbon stiffened in her seat, pretending she hadn't heard him and started watching out of the window. They didn't talk much for the next ten minutes the consultant needed to bring them home.

To her surprise, he'd paid attention to the given speed limit without needing her to remind him.

Jane pulled into the driveway of her and Mancini's house, shutting down the engine. "You know you could have easily parked in your _own _driveway and let me walk the few feet over here", Lisbon said while unfastening off her seatbelt.

"I didn't want you to walk barefoot the whole way over here", the consultant answered smiling, "Just say it, Lisbon, I know you want to. We're alone now, nobody's listening."

She threw him an angry glance, before opening the door a bit. This was her chance. Jane never was the one to search confrontation and he already knew what she'd been thinking about the whole time. Taking a deep breath, the agent prepared her mind and heart for what would come. "Fine. You're right, I want to know something. Why did you kiss me?"

Lisbon held her breath, trying to avoid his longing gaze upon her. It took a moment before Jane answered, since he wanted her to look him right into the face when he said it. "Because I could."

The breath she was holding escaped her mouth, followed by an angry snort. He'd kissed her because he _could_ what for an answer was that? Gripping the hem of her dress, she gritted her teeth, trying to give him a disapproving glance: "This doesn't answer my question. One doesn't go around and kiss other people jest because one _can_! Did you do it to silence me? So I would stop going on about Lorelei?"

"Oh here we go again", Jane sighed giving her one of his famous eye rolls when he wanted to make it clear she was driving him nuts. "Don't you ever get bored going on and on about Lorelei? I'm not proud of it and you should know that by now, so please. Please stop going on about this, because I can't take it back. I kissed you, because you practically screamed for it… and I had to silence you."

"I knew it", she said, wanting to go in, but he turned towards her, putting a finger on her lips.

"I dare you, I will do it again if you won't stop talking now!" The shimmer in her eyes, going along with her suddenly dilated pupils told him she wanted nothing more than to be kissed by him again. "I will remove my finger now and if you say one wrong word, I swear the kiss from the office will be _nothing_ in comparison to what you will get, okay?"

Lisbon nodded; eyes wide open, waiting for Jane to pull his finger away. To her own surprise she couldn't get out a word, even if she wanted to. Did he just _threaten_ to kiss her? Her thoughts were going crazy, so she just waited for him to get off the car and opening her door like the gentleman he was.

"Thanks for driving me home." Lisbon's voice was hoarse and quiet.

"Always, Teresa", he answered, pushing a bun of hair behind her ear, "Sweet dreams." Lowering his face down to hers, Jane brushed his lips over hers so quick and soft, she wasn't sure it really just happened.

Making her way over to the front door, she could feel his eyes burning on her back, while looking for the key in her small purse. Where was the damn thing?! Of course it would take longer than usual for her to open the door and stepping inside. Daring to throw another glance back she realized, Jane was still standing in the driveway on the same position she'd left him.

* * *

He grinned and waved her goodbye, right before she shut the door with a damped bang. Thins went well tonight. Very well to be honest. There was no chance he could wipe off that grin on his face when he got into the car and drove it into the garage of his own house right next to Lisbon's.

He'd kissed a total of three times tonight. A surprising, unintended first kiss, followed by a passionate lover's kiss – which Lisbon had started – and a sweet short goodnight kiss. Without knowing, they'd crossed a line and now, there was no turning back. From this point it could either become better, he knew it.

Happily, Jane went into his own house, going up to his bedroom immediately. He didn't bother to close any curtains or blinds, when he took off his jacket and the vest. Rolling up his sleeves and opening the upper three buttons of his shirt, the consultant stepped in front of his French window, waiting for the light to turn on in Lisbon's room.

It took a while for her to get into her room but when she finally switched the light on and went to the windows to close the curtains, Jane knew she would look for his presence again some time this night if only to talk about the kiss _again_.

His little woman. Couldn't she just take things the way they were developing instead of questioning every single move? The way she'd kissed him back the second time was proof she felt the same way about him like he did about her. She just needed to be pushed into the right direction.

Her shadow appeared in front of the curtain, hesitating whether to pull them away or not. Jane raised an eyebrow, curious if she'd give into her intentions or just try to be the reasonable woman as always. Just like he thought, the shadow disappeared and the light switched off.

Jane never liked stakeouts very much except they were part of a plan and he could do them with Lisbon, but this time he had no problem with waiting for the woman to show up and talk to him. A nice hot cup of tea would definitely be a good companion for tonight until Lisbon decided to crawl out of her hole. What a blessing he decided to buy the excellent selection of different sorts on the farmer's market last Wednesday.

About ten minutes later, he sat down in his comfortable beach chair outside the balcony, a pot with damping tea on the small table and a novel in his hand. Since it was still warm outside, he didn't need a blanket or pillow as a comforter. The only thing he had to do now was to wait.

* * *

After shutting the door, Lisbon glided down to the floor, resting the back of her head against the cool wall behind her. She could hear Jane starting the engine of his car again and driving off to his own house. The way he'd looked at her. Oh god!

Groaning, she kneaded her temples, trying hard to get rid of the voices in her head, but she had no chance to escape them. One part of her was thinking about the kisses in the office, another one about what had just happened outside the door. Again, one part was telling her they couldn't be together, not like this, not in such dangerous times, while another told her to go for it and finally give into the feelings she'd been holding back for such a long time.

"Damn it Teresa!", she mumbled, putting two fingers against her lips. She could still feel Jane's lips upon hers and it was a feeling she never wanted to for get, she rather wanted to feel it again… and again… and again.

Patrick Jane had turned her whole world upside down and although every reasonable human would tell her to keep her hand off the devil, her heart was pulling her into the opposite direction – as always. She damned the day he showed up in the hallway of the SCU at the CBI, since she never had a chance to _not_ fall for him. Why was she a magnet for lost causes and rather broke herself over helping them than doing what was good for _her_?

Maybe this was just the direction God had in mind for her. Still, she was a good person and didn't she deserve a little happiness in her life and not the total mess it was now? If she gave into her feelings for Jane – because denying she had none became pointless now – was there the slightest chance they would get the happy ending they both deserved?

None of them could be sure Red John wouldn't strike and take her life – or even worse – his in the end. She barely survived six months without him, so how should she be able to survive the rest of her life? Wasn't it the same the other way around?

Lisbon was stuck in her thoughts so she almost didn't recognize her feet took her into her bedroom in front of the window. Quickly, she closed the curtains, since she didn't want him to see her in a delicate situation again. Thank god Mancini would stay the night in San Diego. She wouldn't be able to deal with him, his advances and his questions right now with Jane in her head.

After peeling herself out of her dress, she threw it carelessly over the backrest of a chair and went into the bathroom, snorting derogatively when she saw her face in the mirror. Her cheeks were still flushed and her eyes wide. She could swear her pupils were dilated more than normal, too. What had Jane said on their last case with Mashburn?

Dilation of pupils always set in if we really want something. Well, there she goes, the thing she wanted right now was a certain blonde consultant in the house right next to her.

Perhaps he was still awake and she could ask him one and for all to give her a truthful answer on why he was doing all this, so she could plan her next moves…

Pulling her jersey over her head, Lisbon went out of the bathroom to the curtains. She couldn't do this, could she? They both needed time to think – though thinking more about the situation than she already did, would make her brain burst.

The agent lay down on the queen size bed and tuck the warm blanket around her. It was almost as warm as Jane's body had been when they'd danced. Humming the melody of her favourite song, she stared at the ceiling, imagining Jane's picture there. How he smiled, how he laughed… Everything could be so easy if he'd let it be.

Time flew by, but Lisbon couldn't find sleep. She was too stirred up and knowing Jane was just a few yards away didn't make it better. A quick glance on the clock told her it was already after three in the morning. Maybe she should just go outside and take in a fresh breath to clear her head for the night. Not that this would help, but she needed an excuse to get up and take a look at the window of his bedroom, knowing he didn't have any trouble sleeping in opposite to her.

For the second time of the night, she stood hesitantly in front of the heavy curtains debating whether to pull them away or not.

"Just do it", she mumbled, taking a deep breath and pushing the curtains aside. It was dark outside, only the stars and the moon lightened up the world.

"I was wondering if you showed up tonight", a voice stated, just when she opened the door and took a step outside. Lisbon flinched surprised when she spotted the dark figure coming out of the shadows of the opposite balcony.

"Jane! You scared the hell out of me!" She stepped closer to the banister. For a second it crossed her mind, that if both of them would lean over the balustrade and reached out for the other one, their fingertips might touch.

Jane lit the little lamp on the wall outside, so they could finally see each other for real, then he moved towards the banister, too. His face looked tired, as if he hadn't found any sleep at all tonight. "Trouble sleeping?", he asked.

Lisbon shrugged, leaning against the balustrade: "Seems like I'm not the only one."

"I guess you're right. I have too much in my head right now, so it makes sleeping impossible." This answer took Lisbon off guard. Had he just admitted that he was thinking as much about the whole evening as she was? And here she thought Patrick Jane, the Master of Thoughts always knew what to do.

"Me too. Tonight has been kind of… disturbing to me."

"Anything you want to talk about?" His voice was serious about it, so she kept questioning herself why he had this sudden interest to talk things out between them. When she remained silent, Jane stepped back to the little table with his tea on and took a sip of the long cold beverage.

"I know I did some confusing things today, Teresa", he admitted, "I don't know what to tell you yet. But I know one thing, which is really important to me, and that is the fact that I need you to trust me. You didn't give me a straight answer back in the office, so please. Please tell me that after what happened yesterday, you haven't given up on me."

The agent swallowed hard, a hand going up and touching the small wound where the bullet hit her arm. It hadn't hurt the whole evening, but somehow the pain was more real now.

"I know I hurt you badly, Teresa and against anything you might think, I had no intention of hurting you or anyone else. I was stupid and shouldn't have messed with you and Mancini, so I'm sorry, I really am. You don't have to accept my apology, but I have to be sure that I can still count on you."

Looking into his eyes, seeing the honesty and truth in it, Lisbon swallowed hard. There were so many unspoken feelings between them and he asked her to trust him, to not give up her hope in him. She never did. Yes, she thought about it, but not for one second, she was poised to let Jane go.

"I trust you, Jane", she whispered loud enough for him to hear her, "I trust you and I will never give up on you, if you promise me to be completely honest with me from now on."

Jane's lips formed a thin line, while he rubbed with his hand over his face. "I can't promise to tell you everything, Lisbon. There are things, you're safer without knowing."

"But how do you expect me to trust you, when you have no intention in trusting me with everything?" Although she didn't want to fight with him again, her voice grew louder.

Jane sighed shaking his head: "I need you to trust me to tell you the right things at the right time, otherwise you'd be in great danger and I can't risk to lose you. You mean too much to me."

Lisbon gasped, fastening her grip around the banister. She meant something to him, she meant _too much_ to him. What was this supposed to mean? "Jane please, can we just lay our cards on the table and talk it out? I can't work like this anymore. _Please_…"

"Not tonight", the consultant answered, his voice on the edge. They stood in silence for a few minutes, a chilly breeze crossing them, making Lisbon freeze a little. "After you left the office, I took another look around and found something in the folder you thought was useless. Maybe we should meet and talk about it tomorrow, look things over, so we can finally bring this damn case to closure. What do you think?"

"Sure", the agent mumbled unpleased. This was just typical for Jane. When it got too hot, he changed the subject. Well, this was what she'd get when she gave into him. "Goodnight Jane."

Lisbon turned around, stepping back towards her room, but Jane seemed to have one last thing to say: "If you have trouble sleeping, count one and two when you breathe in and out and think of a happy memory from the last week. Goodnight, Teresa."

Without looking back this time, Lisbon shut the French doors behind her and went straight to bed. Great. Instead of the wanted closure, this talk had brought up more feelings she really didn't want to deal with right now.

Although Jane's tips always seemed a little ridiculous to her, she closed her eyes and calmed her breathing while counting to one and two alternately. Now she just needed a happy memory to think about. Well, the week had been kind of a mess. Good and bad things happened, but the best… was the kiss.

Remembering Jane touching her, nibbling her throat and carving his body made her feel warm and wanted. If Jane's kisses made her feel like that, what would it be like if he showed her is other talents? She shouldn't think about this, really shouldn't, since it were immature teenage girl thoughts, but Lisbon couldn't stop imagining things going on from the point if they hadn't been interrupted.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep, dreaming of Patrick Jane doing magical things to her body. Maybe, one day, her dreams would become true.

* * *

When Lisbon came down the next morning, she was surprised to see Jane and Mancini sitting at the kitchen table, behaving like two calm adults for once. No insulting, no threats… this made her wonder if she actually got up or was still dreaming.

"Good morning", she mumbled, heading over to the counter to put some freshly brewed coffee into a cup. As always, the brew Mancini made was so strong it blew her mind like someone threw a bar of dynamite right into her face. With adding three spoons of sugar and some milk, she made her way over to a free chair at the kitchen table right next to Jane.

"How nice to see you finally agreed to join us, Lisbon. You slept in late. Had a rough night, huh?", Jane suggested with a wink which made her blush lightly. If Mancini would have looked towards her he could have seen her giving him her famous eye roll.

"You could have woken me up", the agent answered, taking another sip of her coffee, "What's that?"

Pointing towards the table, she saw some sheets of paper and out printed pictured. Some looked familiar, having the logo of the Brenner's company on it.

"Well, Mr. Jane told me you two found these documents yesterday night when you were going through the folders of Mr. Brenner's office", Mancini answered, taking one of the sheets into his hand and giving it to her. "Although on the first look everything looks completely fine, we found some friction we don't have an answer for. Mr. Jane, would you care to explain?"

_I have to be dreaming_, Lisbon thought. Jane and Mancini were never nice to each other, so what happened for the two of them being so calm this morning? Was it because of her? Because Jane had the satisfaction of knowing he kissed her while he still thought she'd slept with Mancini. Damn, she should've told him she hadn't. But when they were arguing back then in the office, she saw no point in telling him.

Somehow she didn't like to be ogled like some piece of meat between two lions. Clearing her throat, she took the sheet of paper Mancini gave her and skimmed it. It was a delivery from San Diego to Mazatlan, one of the bigger coastal cities in Mexico with a great harbor.

"So… It's the delivery note of a delivery of paper from Aaron's company. We know that he ships his stuff with the Brenner's ships", she pointed out.

"You're right. But look at the cargo. The number of boxes that arrived in Mazatlan and now look on the copy of the bill Aaron got", Jane instructed her.

Lisbon took the bill and laid it next to the delivery note, comparing the numbers to each other. "This is wrong. He shipped 37 boxes but paid only 33. Do you think the three boxes contained arms? Wait, where did you get all the stuff by the Aaron's company?"

Jane looked over to Mancini, who chimed in: "At the meeting with my boss yesterday, I told him everything we knew and what we saw at the night we were at the harbour. He gave me the green light to give me everything we needed on the companies we were looking into and Mr. Jane called one of your employees in Sacramento last night."

"I sent Van Pelt the pictures of the papers I took with my phone so she could edit them. They were a little squirmy."

Lisbon raised an eyebrow: "Wait, you can take pictures with your phone? I'm impressed, Jane."

Jane gave her an amusing smile, before he went on: "Now, Grace was so nice to send them back to your laptop via mail and when Mancini came home this morning, he helped me to print them out."

Of course Jane would need help with something easy like printing out pictures from her laptop. Wait a minute. _Her_ laptop? How the hell did he get to it, it was in her room! She even changed her password once a week, how did he… As if he'd read her thoughts, Jane smiled at her mischievously.

"Please, Lisbon. Your choice of passwords is not very creative. Did you really think I wouldn't crack it? By the way, it's very cute how you drool when you're sleeping."

Lisbon gasped embarrassed and hit him on the upper arm. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Mancini trying hard to hold back a witty remark. They should go on with working on the damn case, before the two men changed their minds and decided to be at war with one another again.

"Well, I have to admit it is nice to have all of this stuff here, but is it really enough to nail them down?"

"According to my boss, we have enough to get a warrant for the Aaron's and Brenner's house. The only thing we need is your okay and the signature of a judge. It'll take until tomorrow, but we have to make them think we're safe. Richard Aaron won't be back until Friday anyways, so we have enough time to prepare. My colleagues of the FBI will arrive on early Friday morning, so we can search the houses."

Jane nodded in accomplishment, but saw Lisbon hesitating: "What's wrong, Lisbon?"

"Nothing", she answered", it's just… I don't know what to tell Nikki if she finds out her and her best friend's husband are one of California's most wanted drug bosses."

"We can't let our own feelings cloud our judgement, Teresa", Mancini stated, "You don't know if they are hand in gloves with their husbands. And even if not, you can't tell her. You knew the charade would come to an end eventually. I guess we all didn't expect it to come so soon. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to call my boss and set another meeting in San Diego. Do you want to come this time?"

She shook her head, kneading her fingers: "One has to keep up the game. I don't want them to become suspicious, right?" By the way, she'd agreed to meet with Nikki and the others tomorrow afternoon and she didn't want to miss their last meeting. The three women had become something close like friends to her and she would miss their meetings at the spa or in the city to do girl things.

Back in Sacramento, her whole life would be turning around her job again and she wouldn't have time to do this anymore.

"Do what you think is right", Mancini told her, standing up to call his boss in private.

Sighing, Lisbon rubbed her temples. She felt a light headache coming her way and suddenly damned the shots of Tequila she drank last night. A hand covered hers and squeezed it. Looking up, she found Jane staring into her eyes, a serious expression on his face: "Are you gonna be alright?"

The agent nodded slowly, giving him a small smile: "I have to be. It's just… everything is confusing at the moment. I knew we would get to El Baron eventually, I just didn't expect it to be so soon."

"Hey, you're officially off for another two weeks, aren't you? Why don't you take the time and book a nice long vacation somewhere warm and sunny before you have to get back to work?"

Although she liked Jane's idea, this was not possible. The last vacation she took was a week after she had an almost breakdown when Jane went to Vegas. And who wanted to go alone on vacation anyways? If he'd suggested both of them going together… this would have made things a little different.

"I'll think about it, thanks. Now… could you please explain to me what happened to you and Mancini?"

"Why? Nothing happened."

"That's what I'm worried about. When you two see each other, it doesn't take long and you start fighting like two little school boys. Are you on medics, Jane, because sometimes I can swear you need some", Lisbon said seriously and made Jane laugh.

"No, Lisbon. I just think that we both got closer to what we want."

"And that is?" Somehow she felt she already knew the answer, so she was glad Jane shrugged it off and stood up.

"You'll find out rather sooner than later. I have to go now. Let me know if you're free tomorrow or Thursday night, before we take down the big fish."

With this, he left behind the room and a confused Lisbon. Sometimes this man was a real mystery.

* * *

A/N: Okay that was it :D Now since some of you don't know me from my other (german) stories, the case is not as easy to solve as it might seem now. i've planned a few more surprises, so stay tuned ;)  
Well, Jane and Lisbon kissed more than one time. What do you think? Is it time for the two of them to reveal their feelings for each other?  
Maybe - and this is a HUGE maybe - you'll get some M-rated stuff in the next one, but I make no promises ^^  
Feel free to write a review and tell me what you think!  
Thanks for reading :)  
Liefs


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Huhu :) yayy a new chapter ^^ I'm such a slow writer, I'm sorry.  
So since I get neither to see Robin nor Simon - although they're here in Europe and actually not that far away - at least we some fanfiction with Jane and Lisbon to be happy about...

Thank you all so much for your response of the last chapter, I'm always flattered by your kind words :)

This chapter was partly a pain in the ass to write, but I hope you still like it and have fun. With the M stuff I talked about in the last chapter... There will be a little M, so be prepared. Not that this chatches you off guard LOL

Now enjoy!

* * *

(11)

He was happy. If someone would ask him, he could tell he hadn't felt that way in a long time. Everything was going according to plan and the fact Lisbon had agreed to meet him for dinner in his house tonight, was making him dizzy with excitement.

Everything had to be perfect for her, the choice of food and wine, the scent of the candles he'd lit and even what _he_ would wear. Since he was the Master of Perfection when it came to preparing the perfect date so his woman would have a good time, Jane was sure Lisbon would have an evening she wouldn't quite forget in some time.

Her call this morning gave his ego the needed boost after what happened with the whole kiss thing. She'd been a little reluctant, almost shy when she told him she'd be free this evening. The woman thought too much, but he knew all of this already. They would talk about it tonight and maybe he'd tell her the reason why he went through all this - following her to San Diego, buying a house and of course being a pain in the ass. But that was all a matter of how tonight would go.

Who knew, if it went _very_ well, he might be finally able to tell her he loved her and not take it back this time. By all means, the woman deserved to be loved by him, no matter the circumstances. She'd given him everything over the years, so it was time to give it back to her in every single way possible.

Yawning, he stretched his back and put the cup of tea which had been resting on his stomach aside. The weather was perfect and though he didn't believe in supernatural stuff, he though this was a good omen for tonight.

Jane took his shirt off and threw it over the back of his sun lounger. He used his pool too little, so taking a swim and cooling down his heated body seemed like the right thing to do now, since he hadn't been able to surf this morning.

Not bothering to take the ladder, the consultant jumped into the cool wet with a header, burying his whole body under the surface. It was like the water cleared his head and aroused his senses, so he stayed down for a few seconds, before the need for oxygen got too big and he pushed himself up.

Water was dripping from his hair, running over his body back into the pool. Without bothering to rub it out of his face, he took a deep breath and dived down to swim the crawl from one to the other side of the pool.

It was a welcome change to not have the salty water in his eyes for once – not that he'd change the wild roughness of the sea for anything else. Swimming had always been one of his favourite activities. Back in Malibu, he'd spent every free minute with his late wife and child on the beach, teaching little Charlotte how to swim and build the biggest sandcastles while his wife was watching them and taking pictures. Life had been cheerful back then, not as depressing and dark as it was now.

Thank god a little light called "Lisbon" had showed him the end of the tunnel. She was rather one to go running and do a hard workout in the gym. Maybe he had to reintroduce her to the beauty of nature – that a long walk on the beach could be more soothing and clearing than rousing the seagulls and dashing through the sand. The woman was too tense sometimes.

If things went good, he could persuade her to not go back to Sacramento after closing the case, but staying here in his house with him for a few more days. He could take her to the beach and show her how to surf, maybe watch the dolphins in the sunset or make love to her in the sand…

Jane totally forgot how to breathe when this thought entered his mind, so he inhaled some water. Struggling, he dived up, trying to get rid of the water in his lungs. Hell this was embarrassing - thinking about Lisbon and almost drowning. She'd probably laugh if he would tell her this.

Since he still had no control over his breath, the consultant paddled to the frame of the pool and stabilized himself with his hands, looking down on the bottom. The last time he had to cough like that because of gulping water, was when Lisbon tried to drown him in the pool at the spa. Too bad the little woman hadn't count on him being strong enough to fight her and turn the game around.

When Jane suddenly felt a shadow chasing the warming sun away, he looked up. Mancini was standing right in front of him, the arms crossed and a maddening expression on his face. Jane didn't feel very comfortable with the position he was in. Mancini was standing high above him and he hated to face people if they were not eye to eye. Right now the FBI agent didn't even try to hide his anger towards him, since his hands were balled to fists instead of the defensive crossed arms position.

"Mancini", Jane declared casually, trying to make it not look like he was running from the man when he swam over to the ladder, "What a surprise. I didn't count on you stopping by. Miss my presence in your house already? If I'd have known, I'd have prepared a cup of tea."

With his voice calm and challenging, Jane climbed out of the pool, grabbing a white towel next to his shirt, which was lying on the back of the sun lounger. "Are you lost? Can I help you to find your way back home? Or is there any news about the case?"

"Oh there is news for you, Jane", the dark haired man explained with his voice being on the edge.

The consultant raised an eyebrow. What happened to FBI Hulk and what made him be in such a bad mood so he had to come over and… oh. The only thing which could bring him in this mood was a petite brunette Agent.

Since Jane knew Mancini was a man to act before he thought things through, he brought some distance between them, before he went on drying his wet body. To be honest, the consultant wasn't very eager to fight with the man, but concerning his body language, he should prepare his phone to call an ambulance right away eventually.

"Well, do you want me to guess or are you going to tell me already? I'm listening." Here we go…

"Teresa. Is. Mine", Mancini said, emphasizing every word with insistence.

Finally a man who did not beat around the bush. Still, he had an interesting choice of words. "I highly doubt that, since Lisbon is not a woman who _belongs _to anyone", Jane answered, "And to state a fact like this in public when she's not here to either confirm or deny is totally unprofessional." He dried his wet, curly hair with the towel and laid it around his shoulders, watching Mancini's body language. It would probably be better to lay all the cards open – though a real con always had an ace hidden somewhere, but Mancini didn't need to know that.

"You might have slept with her, I give you that, but she is not in love with you if that's what you're hoping for. A woman like Lisbon gives and takes what _she _wants and she's the one to leave first thing in the morning. It could've been anyone, but in this case it was you."

The fact that Lisbon wasn't the one for sweet pillow talk after sex in the morning. She had one night stands with men, not the men with her. He had to learn that, when Lisbon came back the morning after their second case with Walter Mashburn, wearing the same clothes as the day before and smelling not like the usual hint of cinnamon, but clean, neutral hotel soap and a hint of after shave.

Back then, he'd been happy she had a little fun, though he regretted it by hindsight. They survived an explosion, she'd been almost shot and attacked by a weird German model because he told the guests of the party she was Walter's new girlfriend.

A smile came across Jane's face. Now, it was time to point out to Mancini why she was willing to sleep with him: "Lisbon only slept with you, because she was hyped up after the whole scene at the harbour. There was a hostage situation, she was under stress, there was a wild shooting and she fell off a truck. She was almost shot, too, remember?"

"And who's fault was that? Who buzzed into the whole scene and screwed it up?"

He watched Mancini carefully. The man seemed to be surprised when he mentioned his little encounter with Lisbon, a thought that still left a bitter taste on Jane's tongue. One night stands or not - the fact Lisbon slept with the enemy was something he didn't like.

"Ah, I see you're not agreeing? Tell me one good reason why Lisbon would sleep with a hothead like you if it was not her being out of her mind. Go ahead, maybe you can change my mind."

"How would _you_ know we slept together?", Mancini asked, but Jane only shrugged him off.

Probably the FBI agent thought Lisbon had told him, although they probably decided to leave this between the two of them. Well, it was always nice to catch people off guard; Though Mancini didn't feel very comfortable at all.

"That's none if your business. I know you did, so please don't act like this is total news to you. Lisbon didn't tell me if that's what you want to know. To be honest, I really don't know why she let herself sink this low."

The FBI agent did a step forward and showed Jane one of his fists: "Don't you dare to say something like this! Teresa has a better taste in man than you can imagine, that's why she slept with _me_, that's why she kissed _me_ and not a broken self-centred bastard like _you_!"

Now Jane was the one to become angry. Yes, Lisbon slept with him, but she didn't know what she was doing! She did it out of pity. Kissing _him_ was something she did because of attraction, if not love. Darn it, he should call Lisbon and tell her about this whole thing here, but this would be just like a little kid running to tell mommy. He was a grown up and though he always relied on Lisbon to save him in his fights, he was old enough to take this one out on his own.

"Newsflash to you excuse of a state agent, you're not the only one who kissed her."

Mancini rose an eyebrow, seeming surprised and unsettled, so Jane went on: "When you were in San Diego, talking to your boss, we were on Nikki's party…"

"If you get her drunk enough she'd make out with anyone, please. Didn't you just say she was too hyped up because of what happened at the harbour? So don't gloat over kissing her if she was not right in her mind then either." Mancini stepped a few steps closer, so he was in arms reach now for Jane who started to not care if he got beaten up or not. He had an honor to defend.

"You're a coward, Jane. Do you really think she would put up with someone like you, a arrogant ass who is obsessed with a serial killer and who was too weak to protect his own family from getting killed, because being popular was more important to you? Your wife should thank Red John for releasing her from this boring life in your shadow."

That hurt. That hurt deep. Jane stood there, stunned; his eyes wide open in shock. "You should leave now, Mancini, before I forget myself."

"Or what?! You hypnotize me? Or are you going to call Mommy Lisbon so she can have a talk with the bad, bad FBI agent?"

_Calm down, Patrick_, he told himself, _Calm down otherwise it's going to get ugly and you don't want to explain this to Lisbon later._ Jane took a deep breah: "Get the hell off my property you sophisticated jackass or I'll swear, I'll make your life a living hell."

"Oooh, I wanna see that", the FBI agent teased.

"Get out!", Jane screamed, taking the cup of tea he'd been drinking and slamming it in Mancini's direction. It almost hit him on the shoulder, but Mancini just gave him another grin and left through the hole in the hedge.

The consultant stormed inside, throwing the towel around his neck into the next corner, trying to calm himself with deep breaths, but it wasn't working. How dare him. How dare this bastard to say something like this over his late wife and daughter!

Angrily, he took the next vase – a piece the former owners left here, but since it was kind of his taste he kept it – and threw it against the next wall. It hit one of the framed drawings, a copy of Monet's water lily's and left an ugly scratch in the middle.

Damn the FBI and damn Mancini! Who did he think he was? Oh he would get to know him. No one messed with Patrick Jane like that, that was for sure. When he came back to Sacramento, he'd make Mancini's life a living hell.

"Say goodbye to your job, jackass", he mumbled satisfied and went over to pick up the pieces of the vase, which – on second look – wasn't an original anyways.

* * *

_A soft knock in her door made Lisbon look up. It was almost 11 pm, so what the hell did Mancini want from her at this time of the night? Hadn't she told him good night two hours ago? She stood up, pulling down her short nightshirt and tapped over to the door, opening it a crack._

_Mancini was leaning against the frame, a soft smile on his face. "Gabe? It's in the middle of the night, what is wrong?"_

"_I'm sorry, were you asleep?", he asked not concerned at all. Lisbon shook her head, what he used as an invitation to push the door farer open and step inside. "Then you wouldn't mind if I come in, would you?"_

_She was about to stay no, but where was the point in refusing to let him in? He already made his way through the door, so she could kick him out after he told her what he wanted. Hesitantly, she walked back towards her bed and sat down, eyeing her colleague suspiciously. _

_The first four buttons of his shirt were open and showed a major part of his shaved chest. With he sleeves rolled up, too, looking rather casual and somehow sexy, Lisbon had to admit, she still didn't like the fact how the man was looking at her. Like a lion about to prey on the lamb._

_His pupils were dilated and she caught his eyes lingering on her bare legs. Somehow, the situation didn't make her feel comfortable at all, so Lisbon felt the sudden urge to cover herself. _

"_Can I help you? Did your boss call you back or why are you here?"_

_Mancini forced himself to stop looking at her legs, but meet her eyes instead. He came closer, until he was almost standing in front of her, only a few feet separating them. "Teresa… I know you said you didn't want to talk about it, but I can't stop thinking about you… about that kiss we shared. Can I sit down, please?"_

"_No… Please Gabe, we decided to forget it." Oh and there were so many things Lisbon would love to forget but just couldn't. She hadn't felt anything when Mancini kissed her, not even the urge to response. The kiss had been completely one sided and she would be damned to tell him differently._

"_If I have to remind you, _you_ decided to forget it, not me…"_

"_But you should", Lisbon explained, "It didn't mean anything to me. Look, you're a nice guy, Gabe, but we're colleagues and we're on a job. This is completely against my morals."_

"_So you're not denying you're attracted to me, at all", he stated._

_She rolled her eyes on him, knowing he was just looking for an excuse to trick her into admitting something she didn't want. Yes, he was attractive and totally her type, if there wouldn't be a certain blonde consultant sitting in the house next door, who she couldn't stop thinking of. It was ridiculous to say otherwise. _

"_One thing has nothing to do with the other", she said, "I cherish you as a friend and colleague, but just not in… _this_ way."_

"_Please, Teresa. Tomorrow is our last night in San Diego. Do me the favour and go out with me. Our job is almost done and who says we can't be together when we get home? You're working with the CBI; I'm with the FBI… Don't you see we're perfect to each other?" _

Oh my god_, Lisbon thought, heavily trying to avoid eye contact, _he can't be serious_! This whole idea of them being together was stupid. She could never be with a person like Mancini, when every fibre of her heart screamed for Jane. _

"_I can't, Gabe."_

"_What do you mean, you can't?"_

"_I can't as in I have plans. Jane invited me over for dinner." Until now, she hadn't even considered to agree on his invitation form this morning, but now seemed like the perfect time and even if it was just to flee from Mancini for another few hours. She was tired of him trying to woo her when the only thing she wanted was to get the job done. _

"_Of course it would be Jane. What is this between the two of you?"_

"_It's nothing! We're not in a serious relationship if you want to know."_

"_I know you haven't had a serious relationship in some time, that's why I'm so concerned about you, Teresa. I know there is this thing between us and you can feel it too. If you want, we could be friends with benefits until you decide otherwise", Mancini suggested and made Lisbon almost laugh out loud._

"_Are you serious?", she asked, with a mixed expression. He couldn't be, could he? "I am not going to be "friends with benefits" with anyone! If you think I'd even suggest that, you don't know me at all, Mancini! And I'm certainly not going out with you if you're so stupid to suggest that." _

_Lisbon stood up and stepped closer to him, making herself as tall as she could. Right now, even Rigsby would take his legs and run, so Mancini should do the same if he wanted to stay in one piece before leaving the room._

"_I did not kiss you. You kissed me and I didn't kiss you back! So whatever signals you think you got from me to encourage you to go for it – I don't want anything from you. We're colleagues and that's enough for me. If you want more, you've got to look for another agent who is stupid enough to fall for a hot headed macho in the first place. Now please leave my room."_

_The FBI agent watched her a little stunned. Well, he didn't count on that one. He'd never been one to let himself be bossed around by a woman, so instead of leaving, he stepped closer and caught Lisbon's wrist with his hand. _

"_You are in love with me." _

_If the situation wouldn't have been that serious, Lisbon would have laughed: "I certainly am not." She freed herself, shoving him back towards the door, just when he grabbed her wrists again and pulled her against him. Without asking for permission, the agent pressed his lips on hers, trying desperately to get any reaction from her, but Lisbon stood stock still, pressing her lips together almost violently, so he had no chance to enter her mouth with his tongue._

_She waited three seconds, before she rammed her knee into his genitals and her fist met his face. Mancini winced, not knowing which part of his body hurt more. "This had been fun the way it lasted", Lisbon pointed out, "but now it's enough. Leave my room and don't ever try something like that again!" _

_The FBI agent nodded, going slowly over to the door, his whole body aching. "I will win your heart, Teresa."_

"_Don't bother to try", she answered, shutting the door behind him and locking it – just to make sure he wasn't coming back. Hell, she was glad when this whole thing was finally over. Now she made herself go to dinner with Jane – great. Another thing she had to worry about. She'd have to call him tomorrow…_

* * *

Lisbon was caught up in her thoughts about last night, so she almost didn't realize what was going on, until Rebecca's sharp peal of laughter brought her back to reality.

She'd agreed on meeting the three women she'd become friends with during the time here in San Diego for one last lunch. Not that the three of them would know, they thought Lisbon would join them on the shooting rage tomorrow, but for Lisbon it was something like a last goodbye before going back into her normal, boring life with no social connections whatsoever.

Veronica, Rebecca and Nikki were her friends, so she felt bad when she thought about tomorrow, destroying the lives of two of them. She couldn't believe they knew of the scheming of their husbands or rather, she refused to believe it.

One thing was for sure, Lisbon would miss them, would miss the talks, the fun – hell even the pampering at the spa!

"Liz, is everything all right? You seem so off today", Veronica suggested, after she hadn't laughed about whatever Nikki had been telling them.

Caught like a little child sneaking some cookies out of the jar, Lisbon cleared her throat and put up a cherishing smile: "I'm sorry, I was thinking."

"Seems like you have a lot on your mind lately", Nikki grinned, "It doesn't have something to do with a certain blonde neighbour and ex-boyfriend of yours, does it?" With her blushing, Nikki knew she was right. "Don't get me wrong, but I saw the two of you dancing at my party the day before yesterday and this looked more like a little dance with old friends."

"So you were the woman he had his last dance with? A friend of mine vented that some slut – no offense, honey – got the last dance with him. She was really disappointed." Lisbon didn't know whether to smile or be offended by Rebecca's story, so she went with a neutral expression.

"Well, he's a passable dancer."

Now it was on Veronica to roll her eyes on her and gave her one of these looks: "Oh dear, I danced with Patrick. He's more than a passable dancer. He's such a gentleman and perfection in person. Tell me, is he as good in bed as he is on the dance floor?"

"Veronica", Nikki exclaimed, couldn't hide the giggle though.

"What? Liz is married and for all I know he's single. Though I swore myself to never have a permanent relationship again, I'd make an exception for this man. Any problems with that?", she asked Lisbon.

The agent almost chocked on her Panini. Veronica had always been the one to say things without thinking, but sometimes it was just annoying. What did the woman want? Give her the permission to hit on Jane? Never.

"Shut up, Vero! Don't you see there's something going on between Patrick and Liz? There is, isn't there?" Now all three pairs of eyes were on Lisbon, who pretended to be busy picking her Panini.

Lisbon couldn't hide the blush that crawled over her whole face, remembering the passionate kiss in Nikki's office.

"Did you kiss him?", Rebecca asked. She was a little hopeless romantic, which Lisbon really adored.

"Yes."

Their eyes widened and Nikki let out a crow. "Oh my, Liz! Congratulations on this. I always knew the two of you belong together. I have no idea why you married Mike anyways."

"My husband's name is Mark and I don't feel comfortable at all to know that I cheated on him. He was in San Diego that night and we had a fight before he left, so… It was more an act out of desperation and old habits than anything else."

"Oh I know how you feel, Liz", Rebecca explained with a sad voice, "I'm a very faithful person, but sometimes it's getting really hard on me when Richard is gone all the time. Thank God he'll be coming home tomorrow…"

The agent tried to smile, but she couldn't since she knew Rebecca wouldn't have much of her husband when they were through with their warrant. Searching their house would be one thing, but he'd be asked in for interrogation and this would take time…

For a second, Lisbon wanted to tell them the truth so badly, but she couldn't. She was a state agent and couldn't let personal feelings cloud her judgement. Tomorrow she'd lose the few friends she'd ever had, which made her kind of sad.

Nikki was so thoughtful to change the topic to something lightly, to drag them out of their hole. The woman grabbed her hand under the table and sent her an encouraging smile, like she wanted to tell her this wouldn't be the end of the world.

Well, that might have been not, but Lisbon still had a dinner to survive. A dinner she wasn't sure she really wanted to attend to at all…

* * *

_Stop being an idiot and just push the damn button!_, Lisbon told herself in a more than harshly voice. Her finger was lingering over the bell of Jane's house, but somehow she couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead, she turned around and walked back to the sidewalk – for the second time this evening.

_This is ridiculous. You're a grown woman, what are you afraid of? _Taking a few deep breaths, the woman slowly made her way back to Jane's front door. This was just a dinner between friends.

_Sure it was. Friends don't kiss each other like that! And they don't tell you they love you and take it back then. God, why did I agree on this again?_ _Oh, right, to survive Mancini's weird behavior. Now go in, Teresa!_

She had nothing to be afraid of, had she? Why the hell was she not able to ring the damn bell then? Darn it, this was not a date!

_If it's not a date, why did you dress up like it is one?_, she asked herself, looking at her reflection in the glass of the front door. Lisbon wore a light green summer dress, combined with sunglasses tucked in her wavy hair and dark strappy sandals out of leather.

The agent had never been one for dresses or skirts, since they were uncomfortable for work and it just didn't fit to her style for things she wore at home – in case she got home on the weekend. But in the last two weeks, the idea of dressing in a more feminine way had grown on her. She didn't know whether it was the flair of San Diego, the company of her newfound "friends", or just herself.

Still, she'd felt the urge to wear something pretty – not sexy, like the dress to the party – something simply pretty for tonight. That meant if she ever got herself together and pushed the bell button.

_Okay, count to three Teresa and then you push. One… two…_ Just like that, the door magically opened with a grinning Jane standing in the doorframe. Lisbon shrieked, putting a hand on her racing heart to calm it down. "Dear Lord! You scared the hell out of me", she breathed heavily.

Jane gave her one of his Cheshire cat grins, before he waved her inside. "I was wondering if you'd ever bring up the courage to ring the bell. I swear, if you had turned around one more time, I'd have come out and dragged you in here."

"You were watching me?", Lisbon asked surprised. Well, that explained why he knew she was standing at the front door before she had a chance to ring. A quick look on the massive clock in Jane's entrance hall told her it was already quarter past eight. She'd promised to be there around eight o'clock. Had she really spent 15 minutes debating whether to ring the bell or not? Since when had she become one of these women?

"Of course I did", Jane answered like this question was insulting him, "I was hoping for you to pick the green dress, too. Though the white one wouldn't have been a bad choice either." He leered and asked her in, before closing the door behind her.

Lisbon could swear she heard him turn around the lock, but this could be her mind playing tricks on her. Jane wouldn't be that desperate to make her stay here, would he?

"You're such a perv!", she exclaimed, hitting his shoulder hard, "Don't say you were watching me dress up through your bedroom window _again_!"

"It's not my fault you decide to dress right in front of your closets. That doesn't alleviate the fact that you look absolutely beautiful tonight, Lisbon. I really like these more feminine looks on you, you should consider wearing one of these to the office."

Lisbon blushed a little on his compliment, since she felt like he'd read just her thoughts from a few minutes ago. Of course she'd never tell him that, but Jane already knew he'd hit the nail on the head. Putting up a light smile, Lisbon took time to take in Jane's appearance.

To her surprise he didn't look much different from what he was usually wearing, scratch the jacket and the vest. The first few buttons of his shirt were open and his sleeves were rolled up, showing his muscular underarms.

There was a tiny spot of something looking like red sauce or ketchup on is left breast, which made Lisbon smile. The man wasn't perfect at all… though this little spot somehow but together the whole picture. So he wasn't perfect, but she'd be damned, if he didn't look hot with what he was wearing.

"You don't look too bad yourself." Sounding much softer than she originally wanted, a moment of silence stayed between them, where Jane couldn't stop looking deeply into her shining eyes. It'd almost broken his heart when she turned around the first time and walked back to the sidewalk, but he'd felt relieved when she decided to come back. After that, he'd been watching her the whole time through the window next to the door with amusement.

It'd been more cute than annoying to see her debate whether to ring the bell or not. Finally, he'd decided to take the matter in his own hands to open the door for her, since the food grew cold. Apropos food! Darn it, he totally forgot the self made baked potatoes in the oven!

"Would you like some dinner?", he asked eventually.

Lisbon blinked confused. Dinner, right, that was the reason she came here. "Uh… sure."

"Well then I have to hurry, otherwise it's burned and we'd have to order some take out. Come on!" Jane grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the kitchen, where it smelled delicious like burgers and potatoes.

He hurried over to the oven and got the baking sheet out. "Thank god they're okay."

"You forgot the potatoes in the oven?", Lisbon grinned.

"I was distracted since a certain brunette needed over 15 minutes to decide whether to come in or not. Well, never mind." He set the sheet on the counter and reached for a glass of whine he must have been drinking while cooking. After taking a sip, the consultant reached for a second one, pouring it half full and handing it over to his guest.

"It's a semidry French Bordeaux, going excellent with the meal. Tell me how you would like your burger and you can sit down outside at the table."

Lisbon's eyes lit up when she heard the word "burger". It's been a while since she got to eat really good greasy food, not the fancy lobster and canapés you got everywhere here. For the second time today she thought Jane had read her mind.

"You made burgers?" She wasn't able to hide her excitement like a little child.

"Of course I did. And baked potatoes made by a recipe from an old lady in the neighbourhood. Now, what would you like?"

"Surprise me, Jane", Lisbon answered cheerfully, "I trust you to make the right choice. I'll wait outside." She gave him a pat on the shoulder and went through the open windows in the living-room to the terrace, discovering a small table set for two.

Jane watched her go, knowing she didn't just mean the burger when she said she trusted him. A jolt of happiness shot through his body. He was on a good way to make everything right. Now Lisbon would have the best burger she ever had!

* * *

Outside, Lisbon sat down so she could watch Jane working through one of the kitchen windows, when a small vase with a single red rose in the middle of the table attracted her attention.

Jane thought of everything. To the hell with all her "this is so not a date" thoughts. This was a date and everyone who thought different was wrong!

The man cooked for her, he made her burgers for god's sake and even decorated the table with red roses, the sign for passionate love. She wasn't sure, if she was ready for this step yet, but…

"There you go", he suddenly said, placing a plate with a perfectly looking burger and the self made baked potatoes in front of her, before sitting down on the other side, "A Jane special for a special woman."

Lisbon pretended she hadn't heard that. Putting a napkin on her lap, she reached for knife and fork to start eating the burger. "So… What's so special with the Jane's special?"

"You have to try to find out, my dear. Some more wine?" Surprisingly he discovered her glass already being almost empty. Seemed like she must be a little desperate to calm herself down, though there was no reason to be. Everything was going normal between them. It was not the first time they shared a meal with a burger.

"Sure. It's good." The agent waited for him to refill her glass, before she tried to cut a piece off the big burger. She failed miserably. "To hell with it. I'm sorry, Jane", she said, putting away the silverware and grabbing the burger with her hands, taking a big bite Rigsby would have been proud of.

Sauce dripped from her corners of the mouth and down her fingers, while she closed her eyes and smiled heavenly for the explosion of different flavors in her mouth. Jane couldn't but start laughing at what he saw.

"This is delicious Jane! I had no idea you are such a good cook!" Lisbon put her burger down on the plate, to lick of the sauce from her fingers. "What?", she asked when she saw Jane's gaze lingering on her, looking almost hungry.

"Nothing", he smiled, "I'm glad you're enjoying the food. I though you could need some "real" food."

"It's not like I didn't eat anything over the time here", Lisbon mumbled.

"You're right. You gained a pound or two. It looks good. Much healthier..."

"Hey!", she exclaimed offended, taking a potato and throwing it at him, "You're such an ass, Jane!"

Jane picked up the potato which had fallen in his lap and ate it with a grin on his face. "This was meant as a compliment, my dear. Now please would you stop throwing the food, or you won't get any dessert." His voice was playful but Lisbon was sure he was serious.

"Dessert? Sounds good to me, what are we having?"

"That's a surprise, Lisbon. Be patient and eat your burger. Then we'll see if there's enough space for what I made to pleasure your sweet tooth."

"You're such a hausfrau", she laughed before picking up her burger again and taking another bite. "Seriously, why do we always order take out if you can cook like that?"

"Because I don't cook for anyone. Besides, it takes a lot of time to prepare everything and when we're working…"

"I'm working. You're sleeping, Jane", Lisbon said between the bites, "Don't get me wrong, this is really good. What's your special ingredient? Blue cheese?"

"A true magician never tells his tricks to anyone", Jane answered mischievously, before he finally started eating, too. Lisbon was right; he'd added a piece of blue cheese, which melted together on the hot meat with the other cheese. His little lady was a real connoisseur.

It was a pleasure watching her eat the food with her hands, licking the sauce innocently off with her tongue and moaning every time she took another bite. She was driving him crazy with what she was doing - it should be forbidden to eat in such a turn on way!

Jane and Lisbon ate a while, switching between lightly banter and some serious talk, although both of them were avoiding the fact why Lisbon was really here.

"Did you know Mancini came over here this morning?"

Lisbon took a sip of her wine before answering: "No… What did he want? I haven't talked to him since yesterday. Was it something about the case?"

"More or less", Jane answered.

She narrowed her eyes on him, waiting for a further explanation, but Jane pretended to be busy eating a baked potato. "Come on, Jane. What did he want? You didn't tell me that for nothing, did you?"

"Indeed, I didn't. This man is a complete lunatic. He came here explaining to me that you belong to him and I should get my hands off of you. I didn't know the two of you were already so close…"

The agent choked on her burger, taking hastily a spit of wine: "He did _what_?! Are you kidding?"

"No, of course not. He was here, saying something like you were his and…"

"Yeah I got that. This is ridiculous! I'm no one's anything Please tell me you did not fight, Jane…"

The consultant watched her for a while, before he shook his head. She really seemed concerned about him, but he was not sure if it was because he wouldn't have a chance if Mancini started punching him, or because she wanted the right to punch him for her own.

"We didn't fight physically if you wanted to know that. Though he said some things he shouldn't have and for that, I can't forgive him. I just wanted you to know, Lisbon. He's a selfish bastard and he won't give up on you." _Just like me_, Jane added in his thoughts. "Would you like some dessert now?" It was the right time to change the subject and get to the much sweeter part of the evening.

"Sure", Lisbon mumbled, standing up to bring the plates inside.

"No, please, Teresa you're my guest. You don't need to help me." The agent was a little surprised because of the use of her first name, since he only used it on "special" occasions. When he was about to shoot her, for example.

"You made dinner, so I can do the rest", she said, "Thanks for the delicious meal. Are you telling me now what we have for dessert?"

Jane laughed, before he put the dishes in the dishwasher and shooed his guest towards the brown leather couch area of the living-room. "Sit down and please feel like home here", he ordered. For a moment, Lisbon actually thought he'd brought his office couch here, but this piece of furniture looked pretty new to her.

She took her shoes off and sat down on the couch, knees pulled close to her body, while she was waiting for Jane to bring her the dessert. It didn't take long and he arrived, giving her a small plate with a piece Death of Chocolate, decorated with fresh strawberries and cream.

Lisbon had to hide a grin, when she saw the strawberries. He knew her weakness for fresh fruit and chocolate. These two things combined sounded like heaven to her.

"Oh God, Jane. Who is supposed to eat all of this? It's too much."

"Well, eat as much as you can. You don't have to eat everything at once." Of course she would eat everything. Lisbon couldn't resist this desert as much as he couldn't resist her.

Surprised, he took in the fact that she'd taken off her shoes, making herself very comfortable on the couch. Jane sat down next to her, a little closer than usual, his knees touching hers. She didn't seem to mind, since her mind was too occupied with the chocolate cake.

Her moans were irritating him, and if he wasn't careful, this whole evening could end in a quite embarrassing way. "Did you make the cake yourself, too?"

"I'm afraid I did not. But I made the whipped cream myself and I sugared the strawberries, too. Do you still like it?"

"Of course I do! Thank you for inviting me over for our last evening here", she mumbled, "I wish I could stay a while longer…"

Jane's eyes lit up like someone just gave a child a lolly. This was his chance! He wanted Lisbon to stay with him for another few days so they could figure out what this thing between them was.

"Why don't you?", he blurted out, "With me, right here. You're still on vacation for another week and so do I. This house is too big for one person anyways. I'd really want you to stay here, Teresa."

This left his counterpart speechless for a few moments. They ate in silence a while, before Lisbon found the strength to answer on his offer. This was impossible! She couldn't stay here with Jane, after all what happened. Living in a house, being together for 24 hours a day… this was just not possible, not now…

Hiding her insecurity behind a short laughter, Lisbon picked her cake: "That's crazy, Jane, we can't move in together for a week. When did I even say I wanted to spend my vacation with _you_?"

"Oh, I just figured that. Honestly, Lisbon, why not? Name me one good reason why you couldn't spend a week with me here right in this house?"

_One reason?_, Lisbon thought, trying desperately to get some space between them by sliding to the end of the couch, _I could give you a thousand reasons why I couldn't possibly stay with you!_

The problem was, she couldn't reveal any of them, because then Jane would finally know what she felt for him. Not that he didn't know anyways… But she couldn't take that risk, couldn't take the risk of falling head over heel in love with him _again_ and end up heart broken like she did before. This man was a disease she couldn't live with and couldn't live without.

"Teresa? What's wrong?" Lisbon shoved a big fork of cake into her mouth, avoiding to make eye contact. "Why couldn't you stay here? You could have your own bedroom, we could go to the beach in the morning and I'd cook you dinners in the evening, we could…"

"Stop it, Jane!", she hissed, shoving his hand from her leg away, "Just stop it."

"But why?"

"Because I can't take the risk to fall in love with you again, that's why!" When her head realized what she just said, the agent gasped and put a hand over her mouth. She didn't just say that, did she? Damn it!

Jane was just watching her surprised, his mouth lightly opened and eyes wide in shock. It was like the walls were coming closer; the pressure in her head and especially her heart was just too big. Tears started bubbling up in her eyes and she wished she could just cry. She had to get out of here, now!

"I'm sorry, I… I can't take this anymore. It was a mistake to come here in the first place."

When Lisbon stood up abruptly, she totally forgot about the plate sitting on her lap, which fell down and landed on the white carpet. "I… I'm sorry… I'll… I'll clean it up and go."

"No, wait, let me do this. You just sit down. Please, Teresa." Against her will, Jane tucked her head between his hands and looked her deep in the eyes. His gaze was breathtaking and she literally had no breath left to say a word. Instead, she nodded, sitting down on the couch again, pulling her legs even closer.

There was no chance she could escape now, since Jane was watching her every move. If she wanted to leave, she could, but deep down, her heart wanted to set things straight with him.

Jane cleaned up the mess on the carpet and put it all on the small table in front of the couch, before he carefully laid a hand on her arm, waiting for her to look at him.

"Is that really true?", he asked, his voice a little rough, "What you said, I mean. The reason you don't want to stay with me."

"Yes", Lisbon whispered silently.

They sat there, both lost in their own thoughts. While Jane tried to reflect everything what just happened and desperately tried to find a conclusion, Lisbon's mind was totally blank. She'd just blurted out her feelings for her consultant in a way she'd never thought she would. Jane was smart enough to put one and one together. What was she thinking?! Oh yeah, this was the problem, she hadn't been _thinking _at all!

"I'm sorry, Teresa. I shouldn't have pushed you", the consultant said after a while.

"That's the thing. We all did or _said_ things we shouldn't have…" She wiped a tear away which was about to roll over her cheek.

Jane felt his heart break by what he saw there. Lisbon looked like a poor rejected child, not knowing where to go or what to do. Just to lighten up the mood a little, Jane took the last strawberry from his plate and reached it over to her.

The gesture almost made her smile, so she reached out with her hand to grab it, but Jane gently pushed it away, holding the sweet fruit close to her lips. An expression of wonder set upon he face, before she hesitantly opened her mouth and closed her lips around the fresh red fruit.

Jane's skin prickled, when her lips touched his fingers and she bit into the strawberry. Sweet juice was running down her corners of the mouth, while she chewed, eyes still locked with his.

In a matter of seconds, Lisbon lay on her back, pressed against the back rest of the couch, her hands buried in Jane's curly blond hair.

It'd been just too much for Jane, so he gave in on his lower instincts and started kissing her like he never did before. Their kiss was heated, passionate. He was plundering her like strawberries and chocolate tasting mouth like it was the last thing he would do.

Lisbon moaned while experiencing the talents of his tongue, pressing her body violently against his. It just felt so good to have him lying upon her, felt so natural like it'd never been any different.

She almost couldn't bare the heat the violent and hard kisses brought up in her, so when Jane decided to give her a second to take a breath, while he went lower down her throat, pushing roughly the straps of her dress down to get access to her breasts, the agent let out a yelp.

"I want you", Jane said between kisses, while one hand started playing with the hardened nipple of her breast. His other hand started pushing up her dress, reaching for her panties. "You're mine."

As if someone had lifted the blinder of pure passion off her eyes, Lisbon stiffened under his touch, trying to push Jane away – which was not very easy when he was about to do heavenly things to her breasts.

"Jane… Get off!" Instead of following her request, he took one nipple into his mouth and bit it playfully. "Jane… oh god… please stop… _please_! JANE!" She shoved him back violently, so he landed on the floor.

"What the hell was that?", he asked confused, starting to grin when he saw Lisbon lying on the couch, her dress pulled down to her hip, showing off her bare upper body.

Angrily, the woman in question tried to cover herself with pulling up the strings of her dress again and getting off the couch. "I can't believe you did this!"

"Well I thought you were liking what I just did… And believe me I haven't even _started_ to do the things with you I like."

Her face was red with real madness: "You men are _all_ the same! I'm no one's! I'm not Mancini's, not anyone's and especially not _yours_!"

"Calm down, Teresa, I just wanted…"

"No! I know what you wanted. You think I'm dumb enough to play along with your petty scheme? I'm not Erica Flynn, not Lorelei nor any of your mistresses that are only a means to an end. That's why I could never take upon your offer and stay with you here. Because I know how it would end up! I would fall in love with you all over again while you are having your fun with me, just ready to dumb me when we go back to Sacramento and pretend nothing happened. You're so good at that, aren't you. Either you want all of me or nothing, but stop screwing around with me, because I'm done with this crap."

With this, she stood up, resisted the urge to kick him into the stomach and stormed out of his house. Jane sat stunned on the floor of his living-room, trying to retrace what just happened.

Everything had started off perfectly, but then – as always – he'd screwed up. Hearing the door bumping into the lock, the consultant got off the floor, picking up Lisbon's shoes, she'd left in the hurry of leaving his house.

_Either you want all of me or nothing_, she'd said. "I want you, Lisbon", he mumbled absently, "I want you and I will get you." Because even if she thought different, she was his. His and his alone. He'd make sure of that.

* * *

A/N: Oh man Lisbon! LOL What did my friend Nerwen say when she read this? "If Patrick Jane would tell me "I want you", I'd only ask for the next bed" LOL  
I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the little M scene. I can assure you this won't be the last in this story (yes, this is a hint for the next chapter). But only a few chapters are left, so we slowly come to an end. Make sure to stay tuned, because the tide will turn ;)  
I'd love to hear what you thought, so feel free to write me a review :) Was it okay that Lisbon ran off? Will she decide to stay with Jane for another week in San Diego?  
Thanks for reading and supporting me!  
Liefs

P.S. Someone asked for my German stories. You can find me on "fanfiktion . de" (remove brackets) under the name "Jary00" :)


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Whoooo I did it!  
I'm so, so sorry for the long wait, I'm such a terrible writer :( I hope I haven't lost all of you, because I promise this chapter was worth the long wait.

Thank you all so much for your contunied support and all the sweet messages you sent me asking for an update... well, here it it. I hope you enjoy and have a great start in the week :)

_Warning: This chapter is going to be very M rated in the second half. You're warned now, so don't continue reading if you don't like smut ;) _

* * *

(12)

It was early in the morning, when Lisbon and Mancini arrived in front of the San Diego main precinct. Everything was set, the police officers were updated and even the special force of FBI agents seemed anxious to get going. They were all just waiting for the start signal.

Getting out of the car, they walked over to a group of FBI men, mixed with common police officers, who were waiting at the entrance. Mancini was met with great appreciation, while Lisbon preferred to remain in the background. It was weird to be here somehow, but the professional she was, she didn't let anyone know.

"Agent Mancini." A man in a fine suit with black sunglasses stopped in front of them to shake their hands. Lisbon felt Mancini stiffen, although he flashed his counterpart a winning smile.

"Dexter, it's good to see you. I'd like you to meet my lovely colleague Agent Lisbon with the CBI. She accompanied me on the undercover mission", Mancini explained and stepped aside to give agent Dexter a better view on the petite woman.

After wearing dresses, skirts and slim, sexy clothes for almost two weeks, Lisbon felt a little uncomfortable in her usual work attire with the grey pants and the rose colored blouse. She couldn't see agent Dexter's eyes, since they were hidden by the sunglasses, but the agent felt a little uncomfortable under the man's view.

"It's nice to meet you", Lisbon mumbled, shaking his hands, "I guess you're the leader of the special force of agents which will search the Brenner's house?"

"That's right. Since both men are suspects, it's important to search both houses at the same time, so they don't get the chance to let any information and evidence vanish. We got backup from the SDPD. The guys are pretty good when it comes to looking for drugs and so on. It's not the first time they blow a drug and arms deal here."

"I bet", Lisbon mumbled. Since San Diego was close to the Mexican border, it was a known transfer site for dirty deals and the black market.

"I hope by eliminating El Barón, we'll hurt the contraband trade badly for a few years. Not that it'll ever stop. It's like you arrest one and ten others are already waiting to take his place." Dexter laughed aloud, before he went off to his unit.

"Originally Dexter and I were the candidates for the undercover job, since he's one of our best", Mancini explained, "Just seemed that my reputation was just a little better." He couldn't hide the pride in his voice and a little spitefulness, too. "My boss gave him the command over the second group of agents that'll search the house, so if anyone finds something, at the Brenner's, it's him. Are you ready for the big gig, Teresa?"

Lisbon nodded with a bad feeling in her stomach. She's asked Mancini to let them search the Aaron's house on purpose, since she wouldn't be able to look a devastated Nikki in the eye, with who she'd been drinking coffee and joking around less than 24 hours ago.

Telling Rebecca her husband was arrested and their house would be searched would be uncomfortable too, but she hoped it wouldn't be as hard. While waiting for Mancini to clear off the operation, Lisbon gripped the envelope with the warrant in her hands a little firmer. All she wanted to do was to get this over with and fly home to Sacramento.

"We're ready", Mancini told her and sat down on the driver's seat in the black SUV, "let's bring El Baron down."

They drove off, a huge amount of police cars and more black SUV's with the FBI logo following them. To Lisbon's surprise, she hadn't seen Jane approaching the scenery at the precinct, although he knew they would meet the task force in San Diego. It was probably better that way anyway. She didn't need to see the consultant who couldn't get that stupid grin off his face after what happened yesterday.

Thank God she'd been able to pull the emergency break before things could get too heated up – not that they weren't already. If he hadn't said this stupid "You're mine", she'd have let him do the unspeakable things to her, his eyes had promised and which she'd dreamed of last night.

It'd been so embarrassing. Her dream had started where reality had stopped and hell it'd been good. So. Very. Good.

Shaking her head, Lisbon tried to concentrate on the road in front of them. In a few minutes, they'd arrive in Carmel Valley and a few more and she'd destroy Rebecca's life by telling her, her husband was one of the most wanted drugs and arms dealers in the whole U.S.

Richard Aaron was a bad person, so he deserved it to be brought down and pay for his crimes by rotting in jail for the rest of his life. But still, there was this small voice in Lisbon's head that said it was wrong. Maybe they were really wrong and wouldn't find anything by searching the houses of Nikki and Rebecca… maybe.

"Are you excited to finally get home after this is done?", Mancini asked.

She nodded while trying to get rid of her unpleasant thoughts. She was an agent and should concentrate on the case. It wasn't good to get personally involved with anything. She should've known it before she got emotionally connected to Nikki, Rebecca and Veronica in the first place.

"Yeah, I can't wait to get back to Sacramento." _To my exciting life as a state agent with no social life, the box of ice cream in the freezer and the Spice Girls CD's on my shelf, the work consuming life, with no real hobbies except for the shooting range and a so very annoying consultant._

How the heck was she supposed to ever face Jane again after their second hot make-out session, this time on his couch? Damn it, she could never look at a couch the same way, especially not when her consultant was lying on it.

Mancini must have seen her blush, so that's why he put a hand over hers, squeezing it gently. "Look, Teresa, I think we started our relationship the wrong way here. When we get back to Sacramento, I promise I'll win you over."

_Oh please don't_, Lisbon thought rolling her eyes on him. This man just didn't get the hint!

"I really don't want to disappoint you, Gabe, but I think that thing you call "relationship" should stay completely work related. It was nice to spend time on the job here with you, but that's it. Okay?"

Lisbon tried to stay polite while turning him down, hoping Mancini wouldn't try to deepen the topic any more than necessary. The only answer she got was a sigh, combined with him pulling his hand back. One minute later they arrived at Rebecca's house.

Mancini parked right in front of the front door, waiting for the colleagues to follow them. It was Lisbon, who rang the bell. She held her breath until she could see a single figure walking towards the door through the stained glass.

Rebecca opened them, still sleepy and a confused look on her face. She wore a morning robe, her hair was still tousled from sleep. "Who do you think you are to come to my house at this time in the morning?!" Then her view fell on Lisbon. "Liz, what the hell…?"

Lisbon avoided her gaze, showing her the warrant, while the agents already started to fill her house. "Mrs Aaron, where is your husband?"

"He just came home! He's still asleep. What's going on here, Liz, why are there police officers searching my house?" Rebecca's voice started to sound hysteric.

"Honey?", a male voice asked, "What's going on here?" Richard Aaron came down the stairs and was immediately cuffed by two police officers.

"Richard Aaron, you're under arrest for being a member of the leadership of a drug and arms deal. Read him his rights, guys", Lisbon said, her voice sounding all professional.

"Rick!", Rebecca screamed, her eyes full with tears. She tried to get to her husband, but a police officer held her back.

"Call my lawyers, Becky!", her husband said, before they lead him out of the house to a waiting police car.

"No! Rick!" You can't do this, you can't just take him with you, he didn't do anything! We're honest people, we didn't do anything wrong. What the hell is going on here Elizabeth! You can't just search my house!"

Lisbon swallowed hard, before she held the warrant and her badge up once again: "Actually, we can. We have a legal warrant. And my name is not Elizabeth Smith; I'm Special Agent Teresa Lisbon with the CBI. Do as your husband said and call his lawyers. He will need them."

"I don't understand", Rebecca cried, "You work with the police? But how… why…You can't do this, please! Oh my god. Rick! Please let him go, please!" She broke down on the floor, covering her face with her hands while hysterical sobs escaped her throat.

"Take care of her, lead her to the kitchen or something, make her a tea…", Lisbon ordered the police man who felt rather uncomfortable with the wailing woman. She couldn't stand the view of her friend crying anymore.

"You lied to us, to all of us! We trusted you, Liz or whatever your real name is", Rebecca cried, "How could you do this to me, to us?"

"I'm sorry", Lisbon whispered honestly before she stepped outside, while she waited for the officer to bring Rebecca away. Rubbing her hands over her face, the agent took a few deep breaths to calm herself down, before climbing up the stairs to the first floor of the Aaron's house.

The furniture was held in a modern style, a little too cold and sterile for her taste, but maybe things were like this if one had money.

"A penny for your thoughts", a voice next to her chuckled amused and made her flinch. She didn't know how Jane did this, but it started to scare her. He hadn't been anywhere near the house two minutes ago, had he?

"You're the mentalist, you tell me", she mumbled, not able to hide her bad mood.

"I see you must have met Rebecca already. I just come from Nikki's house. If I were you, I'd avoid her for the rest of the day."

This statement didn't calm her at all. She knew if Rebecca reacted badly on her being a cop and conning them, Nikki would be a thousand times worse. Still, she didn't need her consultant to point out the obvious. "So did you come to tell me just this, or does your presence here has any particular reason?"

"Maybe I just wanted to see you", he said with his mischievous smile on his lips, which made it hard for her to tell if he was serious or just joking. She hoped it was the last, since she could do without him for the next few weeks.

"Come on, Lisbon. Smile. You're one of the cops who brought down two of the biggest drug lords in the US. You should be proud of yourself."

Rolling her eyes on him, Lisbon stepped into a room which she supposed to be Richard Aaron's office, feeling Jane's hand lightly on her back. He couldn't take his hands off of her, could he? Blushing, she gave him one of her Don't-mess-with-me-looks and went over to Mancini, who was looking over a bunch of papers which were spread out over the desk.

"Did we find anything yet?", she asked.

Mancini looked up, pleased to see her. Even Jane got a short nod as a welcom, before he turned back to Lisbon. "I'm afraid we haven't found anything that makes him our man yet, but we're on it. Here are even more files with inconsistencies – but we need a team of special analysts to look it over.

"Have you found the safe already?", Jane asked.

"There is no safe here", the FBI agent answered, just in time when one of the officers pulled a book out of a shelf and a _click_ silenced all of them.

"What the hell was that?", Mancini asked, running over to the officer of the SDPD, who looked confused at the book in his hand. "What did you do?"

"I don't know, I just pulled the book out, because you said we should search _everything_ and then…"

"Mancini!", Jane called. He knelt on the green carpet with golden ornaments and knocked on the floor. "Quick, someone pull this armchair away."

Two officers came running and pulled the white leather armchair aside, revealing a part, where the carpet was cut into a square. Jane pulled a corner of the carpet up and smiled, when he saw something like a trap door on the parquet floor.

"Seems like our officer here found the safe." He looked over to the man who'd pulled out the book and was now standing only a few feet away from them, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Get off there, Jane", Mancini told him rude, before he almost pushed him away and pulled the trap door up. "What the hell…"

"Holy crap", Lisbon mumbled, when she saw clear packages stuffed with a white substance.

"You could knock out a herd of elephants for days with this stuff", the consultant stated. They found it. They found a huge amount of drugs and now there was no way Aaron would get out of this. Hopefully the agents at the Brenner's house would be as successful as them.

"Even if Aaron has nothing to do with El Baron, he has a hell lot to explain to us", Mancini grinned. "Where is the guy who found the safe?"

"He just went out of the room", another man said.

Mancini's walkie-talkie buzzed, asking for a reply. "What is it, Higgens?"

"_There is a furious woman downstairs who is asking for a Miss Elizabeth Smith. She won't back off…_"

Lisbon threw Jane a fearful glance: "I think that's Nikki."

"We could arrest her for constraining our investigation", Mancini suggested, but Lisbon shook her head. She owed it to her former friends to tell them the truth and that she was sorry how things had turned out.

"I will talk to her."

"I will accompany you", Jane mumbled, not giving anything about her protest. She knew maybe it'd be better to have Jane with her. He had this ability to calm people – especially furious women – down in just a short amount of time.

* * *

They went downstairs, meeting the officer who found the trigger that revealed the safe leaving the kitchen. Lisbon nodded shortly, while Jane eyed the man a little more curiously. What the hell did he have to do in the kitchen? Why did he leave anyways, since he was the one to pull the book out.

Usually a police officer would stay, making sure for one of the lead agents to inform his boss about his good work. With one hand in his pocket, it looked like he was grabbing something with his fist.

_Interesting_, Jane thought.

"Are the women inside the kitchen?", Lisbon asked. The officer nodded. Jane could see he felt a little uncomfortable around Lisbon. "Agent Mancini is awaiting you upstairs, so if you finished your business down here, it'd be good if you could just go back upstairs. Come on, Jane."

She hesitantly opened the kitchen door and stepped inside, although Jane still had the feeling something wasn't right. What did this man have in his pockets? Did he steal something? No, he was coming right out of the kitchen when the arrived, he must have gotten it there.

A loud "You!", ripped Jane out of his thoughts and made him go inside the kitchen, just to see Nikki storming towards Lisbon.

She could have prevented the slap easily, gripping Nikki's or duck down, but she decided she deserved it. The consultant watched the woman slap his boss on the cheek, trying to stay calm. It must have hurt badly, because Lisbon flinched and cupped her cheek with one hand.

"You miserable bitch!", Nikki screamed with tears in her eyes.

"Hey!", another officer, the one whom she ordered to take care of Rebecca, exclaimed, "That's assault of a state agent! Agent Lisbon, do you want to press charges against…"

"No, it's okay", Lisbon mumbled, looking Nikki in the eye, "I deserved it."

"You tricked us, you tricked all of us! We trusted you! How could you…"

Now Rebecca, who must have come over the fact of Lisbon's betrayal, stepped beside Nikki, grabbing her friend's hand. "Just leave it Nikki, it's over. She's not worth it."

"She suspects our husbands to be drug dealers! How can you stay so calm Rebecca? This bitch destroyed our lives!" Nikki gave Lisbon a deadly glare, stepping back to the kitchen table and burying her face in her hands.

Jane could feel the tension in the room and the enormous weight on Lisbon's shoulders. He'd give anything to hep her, but he knew this was something Lisbon had to go through on her own.

The agent cleared her throat and stepped next to Nikki, gently laying a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Nikki…"

"Stop touching me!", the woman screamed brushing Lisbon's hand away, "And my name is Mrs. Brenner. Only my _friends _are allowed to call me Nikki."

Lisbon's head dropped, but she tried to hide her disappointment behind a mask of professionalism.

"I'm sorry if my actions hurt you, but it was necessary. Mrs Brenner and Aaron, have you known of your husband's illegal activities?"

Rebecca was about to answer, but Nikki cut her off: "Don't say anything without your lawyer, Becks."

"If you don't give a statement now, we might have to arrest you too because of conspiracy and obstruction of justice", Lisbon explained calmly. Jane went over to the stove, to set up a pot of tea.

"Does anyone want to have tea? It's calming and might be something you need right now."

"You conned us too you sick bastard!", Rebecca said, grabbing Nikki's hand, "And I don't know what you want from us, our husbands are innocent. You don't have any proof whether they are part of this drug ring you think they are in!"

"So you call a whole safe full of cocaine and marihuana "no proof"?", Lisbon asked.

Rebecca sat down shocked: "What?!"

Jane, who waited for the water to start boiling, sat down on the opposite of the table. He waited for both of the women to look at him, before he folded his hands and told them what they found in the hidden safe in the office.

"That's… You're lying. My husband doesn't have any drugs hidden in this house."

"If they're not his, who do they belong to then?", Lisbon asked in her cop voice.

"I… we… that can't be true! I know my husband wouldn't do something like this. We are honest hard working people", Rebecca explained, being close to tears by the thought of her husband being some kind of a drug dealer.

"Oh Becks", Nikki whispered, comforting her friend, "This must be a mistake. I know Richard, he wouldn't do something like this." Then she looked back to Jane. "So _if _Rick is part of this whole drug story…"

"He's not!", Rebecca cried, but Nikki went on.

"Then why are you searching my house too. Have you found anything there too? Why would my husband make illegal business dealings with Richard?"

"We can't give any information about the ongoing investigation. I just want to know, if the two of you knew something", Lisbon explained, her voice becoming a lot softer suddenly, "Please, Nikki and Rebecca. I know I lost your trust, but if you know something that can help us, I'm sure I can talk to the ADA and make a deal."

"You want us to testify against our own husbands? You can't be serious!", Nikki said. The woman next to her started crying. "Shht, Becks, it's okay…"

"No, no it's not. I can't believe Rick would do something like this, hide drugs in the floor safe. He is such a loving man. We wanted to start a family."

"Sometimes it takes a while until you see the true intentions of people, Miss Aaron", Jane explained quietly. It was interesting. Lisbon had told them they found drugs in a safe… but not where the safe was located. So Rebecca must have known about this safe.

For a second he thought about pointing this thought out loud, but it would be cleverer to wait until she let something else slip, so he went on: "Right now it is very important to us if the two of you had any idea that your husbands were involved in this… Please. Close your eyes and think about it. It's not your fault if they conned you. Please, think. There is always something that makes a good wife suspicious but she pretends she doesn't know about it."

Nikki and Rebecca looked at each other, not sure what to say. Lisbon took a seat next to Jane, waiting for the two women to start talking.

The consultant watched them exchanging different looks as if they were having a conversation with just their eyes, but he couldn't tell what they were "talking" about. He had a hard time to see through the two women anyways. From their behavior, they were either damn good actresses or innocent bystanders of their husband's crimes.

"Anything can help us with the case", Lisbon encouraged them. She knew it must be hard to testify against a loved one, but she hoped the two would cooperate and not make the situation any harder than it already was.

"I… I don't know if this helps", Rebecca mumbled, "Sometimes Rick got these Spanish calls… But it could easily be something related to his work… We have a lot of Mexican customers. I'm sorry I don't feel comfortable with this, I want to talk to my husband, please agent…"

"Lisbon", she said.

Nikki sighed aloud: "Listen, agents, we don't know anything and even if we knew do you think we'd put the finger on our husbands?"

"You know you could go to jail with this statement", the police officer said, but Lisbon gave him a glare. Her friends were going through a lot right now and she could totally understand their urge to protect their husbands. She wouldn't be able to get anything out of them by now.

A quick glace towards Jane showed her, her consultant was thinking hard about something. Did he see something she didn't? For now it would be best to go with the standard procedure and good cop scheme.

"Mrs. Aaron, Mrs. Brenner, please think about it. It's for your own best if you cooperate with us. If anything comes to your mind, please don't hesitate to call me." Lisbon pushed one of her cards over the table, giving her former friends an encouraging smile, just when the water started boiling. Without another word she stood up and left the room, Jane following her close, a hand on her back to support her. To be honest, he just wanted a reason to touch her. The tea was suddenly forgotten in his mind.

"You did well with them."

He stood so close next to her, their bodies were almost touching. Too many painful memories of last night came up, fogging her mind like thick fluffy clouds.

"There is nothing more I can do right now... I'll go back upstairs and see if I can help Mancini with anything. I'll see you later." Hopefully not. If things went the right way, she'd be on the plane back to Sacramento tonight, back to her real life and out of this hell hole of a dream bubble.

This undercover trip hadn't been a good idea at all. Taking a deep breath, she turned around, feeling the sudden need to get away from Jane's overwhelming presence before she would do something stupid. Again.

"Wait", Jane said grabbing her wrist. Surprised, Lisbon gasped, watching her consultant with sparkling green eyes. "Because of yesterday..."

"It's okay. We can pretend it never happened", she mumbled and he knew what she was referring to. He shouldn't have said it, but there was no way he was able to take it back. He wouldn't want to, especially not all of the wonderful kisses they'd shared, the looks they'd exchanged… Carefully, Jane let her wrist go but invaded her personal space a little bit more. She didn't back off, which was good. Very good indeed.

"Lisbon please… I don't want either of us to forget what happened. I was stupid, but you know me… If I really want something I become an idiot. I beg you. Give it a try, give _us _a try."

She swallowed hard, her breath coming out in flat hitches. "There is no _us_, Jane. And after all that happened I'm not sure I want there to be an _us _any time soon."

"You don't mean that", he said, stepping so close he could see every little detail of her face. She didn't mean it and she knew he knew, but she could try, could she?

"My plane leaves this evening around eight and I will catch it. I… I can't just stay with you. It would ruin the little pieces that are left of our friendship." He could feel she wasn't able to hold her walls up much longer. He could see an officer approaching the stairs and coming down, so he had to be quick.

"Don't ask me to do something I don't want."

"I'm not asking you to do anything you don't want, but I… I really want you to stay, Teresa." And he wanted to kiss her. Right here and there, but he couldn't because if she wouldn't change her mind, their friendship would be lost forever. There was no turning back now. Either she decided for him or against him and if the latter would happen… well, that was not something he wanted to think about right now.

"I don't know, Jane. I don't know. I got to go upstairs to see if they are progressing…Please." Lisbon always took the easy way and ran, why would it be any different now?

"I'll be waiting for you tonight." With this he resisted the urge to just grab and kiss her and stepped a step back, seeing the fear in her eyes. Turning around and watching her running up the stairs, the last thing he could do, was hope.

* * *

For the first time in months, Jane didn't know what to do. Lisbon hadn't given him a straight answer and he couldn't read her when she said she'd think about it. At least that was progress.

When he'd blurted his stupid idea out yesterday, for that he wanted her to stay with him for another week to explore the _thing _that was going on between them, she'd reacted rather passive. But after the events of this morning, he wasn't sure anymore. She could either take that plane at 8 pm or not, stay with him here.

Although he knew after what Nikki and Rebecca said to her, when she arrested their husbands and searched their houses, the first thing she'd usually do was run, there was this light chance she would stay. Stay, because they both couldn't get those kisses out of their heads, stay, because they knew they had to deal with their feelings now and for all or forget about it.

It wasn't an easy decision to make, Jane knew that. He'd hurt her more than anyone deserved in the last few years. He'd used her, pulled her close and pushed her away at the same time… so it wouldn't surprise him if she refused to let herself in on him. If she would, he knew he had to stop doing this to her, stop beating her although she already was on the ground.

Sighing, he risked to watch out of the kitchen window up to her balcony. He knew Mancini's car had left the house two hours ago, but he didn't know if Lisbon had been in the car with him or not. She could have easily stayed inside, waiting for the right moment to come to him.

Perhaps it would be better if she didn't come and forget him like she tried to do after his six months absence. The problem was, she couldn't. She couldn't forget him, because she loved him – so did he. Against everything she might think, Lisbon _was _his. He'd ruined her for every other male human being because he knew she'd always think of him no matter what.

Same thing went for him. How could he ever try to let her go, his little guardian angle that pulled him out of the darkness he fell in after the death of his family and showed him there were things on earth that _were _worth living for. She was one of them. Actually, Teresa Lisbon was the only thing he considered it was worth living for.

The desperate wish for her to knock on his door, throw herself into his arms and kiss him senseless grew and grew until it became unbearable. To busy himself, he made a cup of tea, taking his time while counting the seconds the water needed to boil. Jane tried to do everything possible that made him not think of her.

Eventually, he sat down on the living-room couch, looking on top of the fireplace where he'd placed Lisbon's shoes she forgot to take with her yesterday. It was like a memorial, reminding him again of what could have been if he hadn't let those three silly words slip.

Sometimes he was just plain stupid. Lisbon was a woman who wanted to be the boss in a relationship. If she'd take him upon his offer, he'd make her _think _she'd be the one to pull the strings although originally _he _was the one.

Where was the fun in being psychic if you couldn't manipulate people in useful ways? Deep down, Lisbon wanted to be claimed, but the timing had to be right. How had he managed to get the timing completely wrong yesterday evening? He was an idiot.

Satisfied with his conclusion, he took a sip of tea. It didn't taste as good as it usually did. Great, he'd even screwed up the one thing that was as easy to him as breathing. There wasn't one time in his life he remembered when he'd made a wrong cup of tea. Or maybe it didn't taste good, because he was screwed up himself.

Yeah, that could be it. Angrily, Jane stood up to empty the still full cup into the sink, steadying himself with his hands on the counter. A quick view on the digital clock told him it was five past eight. She must have decided to take the flight back home to Sacramento. If he were in her shoes, he'd probably done the same.

His whole plan had been stupid. What did he think, that all this - buying another house in one of the fanciest areas in California, making up a story of her to be his ex-girlfriend and almost messing their whole undercover operation up – would bring her magically into his arms? Only blind, lovesick people would do something like this.

Life wasn't a movie or like one of these trashy romance novels! He'd already had the love of his life, he'd had happiness and wealth, everything people wished for. But it had all been taken from him. So who was he kidding? Why should _he _be the one to get a second chance in life, a second chance on happiness? Especially with a wonderful person like Teresa Lisbon. She deserved someone better than him, someone who appreciated her the way she deserved it.

Swallowing hard, he wished he'd be here, so he could tell her how much he actually loved her, how much he missed her every second she was not around, how much he feared the day would come where Red John would try to take her away from him.

Patrick Jane wasn't one to believe in coincidence, fate or miracles or whatever term people had for what just happened, but when the doorbell rang, he knew something must have happened. Who would ring on his door at this time of the evening if it wasn't a certain petite brunette who decided to give them a chance and stay with his for a few days. At least he hoped she was.

Taking a few deep breaths, he used his biofeedback to calm his rising pulse down and walked over to the front door. It was her, he could feel it.

Opening the door, Jane saw her standing there nervously, her hand gripped tightly around a strap of her suitcase. Lisbon looked anything but satisfied with her decision to take him upon his offer and stay here, but she managed to flash him a small smile.

"You came", Jane whispered so silently, Lisbon had to raise an irritated eyebrow. "I'm… I'm glad you came. I thought you were sitting on the plane back to Sacramento."

"I was", Lisbon told him, "Mancini already dropped me off at the airport, but then I realized I couldn't… Can… Can I come in?"

"Of course!", he said, suddenly annoyed that he forgot his good manners. He grabbed her suitcase and a big gym bag and lead her inside.

The atmosphere was tense, but Jane was so happy she was here, he felt like a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulders. After a few award moments of silence, he wasn't sure if he should ask her if she wanted to see the room he'd prepared especially for her or if he should give her the time to settle down a little before they went on to step two.

"Do you… want a drink?", he asked instead. Lisbon nodded and looked around, realizing nothing had changed from the first time she entered the house to yesterday evening. She didn't feel uncomfortable at all to the fact she just decided to live here for another week.

In opposite to Mancini's house, the furniture and decoration was kind of her style and she already loved it.

"Are you coming? I can show you your room later if you want to. Just leave your baggage in the entrance hall right there. I'll carry it upstairs."

"Alright", Lisbon mumbled, following him to the kitchen and the great living-room area.

"I haven't cooked anything, because I really wasn't sure if you would come, so if you haven't eaten anything yet, I could fix us something. How about eggs?"

_Of course he'd offer me eggs_, Lisbon thought with a knowing smile on her face. If Jane could chose between the most extravagant and expensive food or eggs, he'd always choose eggs. A smile lit up on her face: "I'd love eggs, thank you."

Jane nodded, excited like a little child and hurried over to the kitchen: "Alright, just sit down on the couch and relax. Your eggs will be ready in a few…"

The couch… yeah. Lisbon threw a glance on the soft leather couch, while images of yesterday night flooded her mind. Maybe she should just sit down on the armchair or not in the living-room at all. "I'll just sit down in the kitchen if that's alright with you", she said, walking over to the dining table.

"Of course, just make yourself a home", Jane answered with a knowing smile, "Because that's what this house will be for the next week. _Our home_." He turned around again to break two eggs into the pan.

She watched him add some pepper and salt, waited until they were finished before putting them on a small plate and decorating them with some fresh herbs. "There you go."

"Thanks… they look delicious."

"Just like you", he mumbled. Lisbon almost chocked on her eggs, her eyes wide open.

"You… you can't just say something like this, Jane. Please. I… I came because you asked me to, because we want to find out what this _thing_ between us is."

"I already know what it is and so do you", Jane explained, giving her one of his looks. Yes she knew what was going on and she wouldn't have come if she wouldn't want them to act on it. Maybe it was time to push it rather than let certain things be undone.

"You're afraid you could fall in love with me. The problem is, you already are, Teresa. Otherwise you wouldn't have come. You came here, because you want to figure things out for you, to find out if it's worth it to take that risk. We're living in some kind of perfect little bubble here, but once we go back to Sacramento you're afraid things will be like they were before."

Lisbon swallowed her eggs, before she pushed the almost empty plate away: "You are right." She stood up, to put the plate into the sink before turning around and leaning against it. "You are right, I'm afraid. I'm afraid to give into this, to let my guard down, because the only thing you've ever done is hurt me, Jane. And I let you. I let you, because I couldn't do otherwise. Sometimes I feel like you just want to know how much more you can push it until I break down completely."

"That's not true", he defended himself, although he knew she was right. He was a terrible man when it came to Teresa Lisbon and the things she deserved in his opinion.

"I'm sorry, but I can't believe you. You're one great puzzle to me, Jane. One time I think I found a beginning, but then you mess it up again completely. I don't know what to do anymore. The fact that you bought this house, your looks, your… kisses… I don't know what to think. Why can't you just stop playing this sick game with me?"

Jane could see the tears shimmering in her eyes, but he withheld himself from comforting her. They had to talk this out. Now and for all. "Because I'm a selfish bastard", he admitted.

Lisbon crossed her arms in front of her chest and kept staring at him.

"I hate myself for doing this to you, Teresa. When I came to the CBI years ago I had only one goal, to find red John and kill him for what he's done to my family. But I didn't count on you. You saved me, Lisbon, you made me live again and you're my only reason for living."

"Don't say that, Jane. The only thing you live for is Red John. Have you ever thought of what it'd do to me if you'd die in your crazy quest for revenge? I wouldn't survive it! I barley survived the six months when you went to Vegas."

Jane took a deep breath, trying to ignore the single tear that slipped out of her eye. Vegas. In the end it came all back to Vegas. "In this huge game of catching Red John I had two goals. Killing him and not falling in love with you and I failed miserably with both of them."

"Don't!", she said aloud, holding a hand up to stop him. "Please, don't."

For the first time, he stepped closer to her: "What?"

"Don't tell me you love me and then take it back, because I wouldn't survive it another time." She wiped her tears away. "You can't tell a woman you love her and then take it back or pretend you _forgot _because you were _hyped up_."

"It was the wrong time to make things clear, Teresa. We were in the middle of a scheme."

"That's why it will never work between you and me Jane, as sad as this is. Red John will always come first. Your life is so consumed by him; you wouldn't even know what do to after you caught him. Would you stay with the CBI, with me – considering the fact you wouldn't get yourself killed in the act? Or would you just leave to go back to the conman life you once had? Have you ever even thought about the future?!"

Jane was surprised their conversation had taken this turn, but alright. She wanted to know where he saw himself in the future? "I don't know where I will be or what I'll be doing." Before she could answer on it, he silenced her with a gesture of his hand. "But every time I imagine the future, I imagine it to be with you." Now he stepped closer until there was only a small space between them left.

"I can't promise you to give up on Red John, because he'll always be a constant danger – especially for you - neither can I promise you to forget my family…"

"I'd never ask you to do that", she threw in silently.

Jane smiled. "I know that, I just have to set some things clear. I can't forget my past, but neither can I ignore my future any longer. And my future is with you. Why do you think I followed you here in the first place? Because I couldn't stand the thought of another man taking you away from me, making advances towards you – and of course because I wanted to see you wearing a bikini."

Although she didn't want to, Lisbon had to laugh because of that thought.

"Seriously Teresa, you looked incredible hot in this little piece of clothing you wore at the golf club."

"So… you were jealous?", she wanted to know. He couldn't admit that, could he?

"Like I said, I'm a selfish man, Teresa and although you don't like the thought of being claimed, I couldn't imagine any other woman in my life."

Jane stepped closer to her, so their bodies were touching now. He pressed a soft kiss on her lips, brushing away her hair with his hand.

"I never had a chance to not fall in love with you. You ruined me for every other man", she whispered, before closing the gap between them again and wrapping her arms around his neck. He locked her body between him and the counter, roaming her hair with his hands. This kiss was different than the other ones before and Lisbon asked herself how many different types of kisses could exist, but she enjoyed every second of it.

It started slow and carefully, before she opened her mouth to let him in. Where the hell did Jane learn to kiss like that? If he could do such incredible things with his tongue with her mouth, what could he do with her… Lisbon blushed immediately and felt Jane smiling into their kiss like he exactly knew what she was thinking.

His fingers started to open up her blouse, leaving a soft shiver on every little part where they touched her skin. Her whole body suddenly felt more alive than it had in weeks. Closing her eyes, Lisbon arched into the kisses he left on a line from her mouth to her earlobe.

How the hell did he know that there was her soft spot? Okay, he was Jane. She should be worried if he now knew. The sensuality of his touch set her lower part on fire.

He lifted her up onto the counter, to get rid of the height difference between them. In one swift move with her feet, Lisbon got rid of her shoes and closed her legs around Jane's body just to press him closer to her. The consultant let of an aroused groan, before he ripped the blouse out of her trousers and didn't care that the last buttons fell off.

"I liked that blouse", Lisbon giggled, only to be silenced with another kiss by him.

"Shut up. I'll get you a new one."

He pushed her blouse down her shoulders and tossed it aside, taking in the beautiful sight of her breasts hold by the bra made out of green lace, which made her eyes only sparkle even more in the dimmed light of the kitchen.

Thankful Jane didn't wear a vest, Lisbon started to unbutton his shirt, too, letting her fingers trail over the muscles of his torso down to his hips. When her hand brushed against the bulge in his pants, she raised an eyebrow.

"What can I say my dear… Seems like you have this affect on me. Let's move this up to the bedroom. I don't want our first time to be on the kitchen counter."

"Are you sure?", Lisbon whispered and Jane knew she didn't mean the kitchen counter thing. She asked; if they were really ready to make a commitment this big after all these time. If he didn't push it now, he knew it'd add up to a discussion about Lorelei again and that was something he didn't need right now. There were other things he needed more, like giving himself completely to none other than Teresa Lisbon.

"I always wanted my first time to make love to be with you, Teresa, and it is." That's what it would be. They'd not just have sex, with all the feeling they had for each other it'd be more, much more than only physical satisfaction.

Before she could add anything, Jane pressed his mouth on hers, kissing her until they both were out of oxygen. Breathing heavily, Lisbon nodded and just brought out a breathless "Okay."

Jane picked her up in the position they were in and carried her to the stairs, which turned out to be a bit difficult. Not, because Lisbon was too heavy, but carrying her while she trailed his neck and shoulders with sensual kisses, wasn't the easiest thing he'd ever done.

That's why he needed to stop in front of the stairs and pushed her up against the wall, getting rid of her bra, he gripped one of her breasts with his hand, while he let his tongue circle around the hardened nipple of the other.

She moaned loudly, burying her hands in his beautiful golden locks and pressing him further down, so he could do anything but stop. If it was possible, she felt the bulge in his pants grow even bigger.

"Dammit, Jane. Either you take me upstairs now or I'm gonna take you right here on the damn floor!", she mumbled aggressively. He couldn't hide his smile at her use of language, so he tried to pull himself together and stumbled up the stairs.

Lisbon wasn't sure _how_ he did it, but at the point he threw her on his king sized bed with the soft blankets, he'd gotten rid of her trousers, so the only piece of clothing that was left were her panties. She watched him unbutton his belt, bracing herself up with her elbows and bit her lip, when he slowly pushed down his trousers and pants.

He was huge. Her pupils dilated and her heart began to beat an unsteady rhythm. He was breathtaking.

If she'd been wet before, now her pants must be dripping wet, something Jane must have recognized too, when he looked at her spread legs. It took a lot of biofeedback to not just come here and there, but Jane calmed himself down, taking her in, just like she did with him.

He'd seen many women naked, slept with more than he could count, but non of them, except his wife had ever given him this look of pure love mixed with want and a little shyness like Lisbon did tight now. It was overwhelming to see her petite but perfect body lying on the white blankets, ready to take what he would give.

Lisbon reached out her hand, which he took to sit down next to her. Letting his fingertips trail over the perfection of her body, leaving a trail of goosebumbs behind, they exchanged a look that said more than thousand words. She closed her eyes, when he leaned down to kiss her, to turn her on her back and roam her body with his hands.

He brushed with his thumbs over her hardened nipples, taking one of them into his mouth to massage it with his tongue, while his other hand went down between her legs, brushing over her wet pants.

"Take them off", Lisbon pleaded, "please, I want you." That didn't need to be said twice. He left her breast, to pull down the little piece of clothing with his teeth, licking over her tight with his tongue. Her moan and aching body was almost too much to take.

Just after he got rid of her pants, Lisbon spread her legs, so he could see her sobbing wet folds. She sat up, just to pull him down with her again, engaging him into a fired game with their tongues, when she left his hand brushing against her core.

Jane caressed the inner side of her tights, before he slipped two of his long delicate fingers inside her and his thumb began to massage the little spot of nerves.

She came almost immediately, a sign to him that it'd been as hard for her as it still was for him to finally let some of the built up tension go. Her folds clenched around his fingers, soaking for more, while her whole body shook in ecstasy of her orgasm. "Please", she mumbled, "Please…God."

Jane waited until her body stopped shaking, before he knelt down on her, giving her a mischievous grin. "I'm just getting started, my dear, so don't refer to me as God before I was able to show you the whole palette of things I want to do to you toni… Oh… Ooooh!"

Well the consultant hadn't counted on Lisbon taking his hardened length into her hands and gently rubbing it. Now she was the one to grin. Although she maybe looked like an angel with her soft wavy hair playing around her shoulders and boobs and those jade green eyes of her, the malicious sparkle and her Cheshire grin gave her away.

"Either you start now, or I promise you, you won't be able to walk tomorrow and for the rest of the week after I'm ready with you."

"Sounds promising, I'm willing to risk that, but only if you stay in bed with me."

Lisbon let go of his cock, wanting to pull him down on her, when he managed to slip inside her in one swift move. Her eyes opened wide and her lips formed a silent "O". She could feel her muscles clench around his length, almost willing to contract once again without even needing him to move.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?", Jane asked, his voice thick with emotion. Here they were, finally joined in the most intimate way two people could. He loved her, he loved her so much and it meant the world to him to be together like this, to finally make one of his greatest desires he'd been having for years come true.

Of course he'd thought about how it could be, but today showed him again, that his dreams could never keep up with reality.

Carefully, he began to move, pulling his hard cock out, just to push him inside deeper, his balls slapping against her skin. Lisbon moaned, spreading her legs more, to take him in deeper. She steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders, gripping him so hard he had no chance put get more excited by the little pain she was causing him.

Their rhythm began slow, before the built up tension forced them to a harsh pace with swift strokes.

"Harder", Lisbon whispered breathlessly and Jane was only willing to quicken their rhythm once more. She was almost ready to come, he knew. He didn't need rush by touching her, she'd come just because of his strokes.

When she wanted to close her eyes to enjoy the feeling of the orgasm, Jane stopped for a second. "Please, open your eyes. I want to see you, when you come."

She watched him, green meeting blue and with two more hard strokes and his cock brushing against the little point of nerves, the bubble burst. Her eyes almost rolled back, her eyelids fluttering uncontrollably.

Her whole body contracted around him, in sync with her excited screams, when he fucked through her orgasm, ready to let go himself. "Oh Patrick!", she moaned. Every stroke was like a new firework exploding inside of her, giving her the feeling of pure bliss and satisfaction.

The moment Jane couldn't hold back any longer, they groaned together, while she felt his warmth ushering inside of her and his body collapsing on to of her.

Lisbon held him close, her arms around his sweated torso, both of them fighting for air. "That was amazing", she whispered, drawing soft little circles on his back with her forefinger. Jane didn't even have the power to raise his head; he just nodded, while kissing her breast.

"I'm out of training", he mumbled, "It'll get even better over time."

"Of course it will", Lisbon answered, but he could hear the smile in her voice. Jane used his last bits of strength, to roll over and pull her close to his body, dropping a lazy kiss on her mouth.

After a few moments in silence, Jane let go a breath he was holding, brushing his hand over her silky hair. "I know it's cliché to say it right now, but I love you, Teresa, I really do." It was just silence that followed. "It's okay. I don't expect you to say anything right now, but…"

A light snore made him raise an eyebrow. The woman didn't just fall asleep, did she? She did. Chuckling, Jane pulled a blanket over their bodies, shifting her weight a little so he could pull his other arm around her too, to hold her closer.

"Good night, my love. Love you." Dropping a light kiss on her head, Jane closed his eyes. He had the feeling tonight would be the first time in ten years he could really get a good nights sleep.

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A/N: whooo they did it! *phew* I hope you enjoyed the chapter and if some of you need to cool down now, I see my goal as accomplished LOL  
Now feel free to tell me what you think in a review :) Was it a good decision to stay with Jane? What do you think of the case? Again I can tell you, there is a twist and this one will be revealed in the next chapter, so stay tuned ;)

Thank all of you for reading my story, I love you guys Liefs


	13. Chapter 13

Bee-doo bee-doo bee-doo!

New chapter ahead guys :D Thank you so much for the reviews to the last chapter 3 you're always so kind to me and I litteraly can't get enough of your wonderful feedback ;)

Well, we're almost at the end of my story. One chapter and the epilogue to go after this one. But I think I'll write some more since I have my head going crazy with ideas ^^

Now I hope you enjoy this one ;)

* * *

(13)

_He hadn't slept this good in years_, Jane thought when the early morning sun combined with Lisbon's hair tickling his face woke him up. Yawning, he brushed her hair out of his face and watched their tangled bodies with so much joy, it almost hurt.

They'd made love last night. Remembering the feeling of him inside her and their hot kisses, made him want to wake her up for a second round, but he knew she needed all the rest she could get after the exhausting days that lay behind them.

He was sure they'd have plenty of time to have sex later on, now his love should sleep.

When Jane thought back, he was surprised how quick life could change. Yesterday morning, everything had been a complete mess and now he was lying here, with Teresa Lisbon in his arms after a night of hot sex, where they both could let go for once in their lives. Nothing had been held back last night, the joining of their bodies had been some kind of catharsis to both of them, with all their bottled up emotions.

Surely, Lisbon would want to talk about everything, but he was determined to never let anything change in their relationship from now on. They knew that they loved each other, even if she hadn't said it out loud. Well, he had, but she'd already been asleep after their little encounter.

His heart clenched and his breath hitched for a second, surprised he could still feel it in such a powerful way. Love.

Jane let his eyes wander over the beautiful features of her face. He loved her so much it almost hurt to think back to the times he'd convinced himself it would be better not to love her. Seriously, how had he been able to resist her for so long?

Now it bothered him he'd taken it back when he first told her the night he came into her office and shot her. He didn't deserve her, but he was selfish and be damned, if he would ever leave her again.

Snuggling further into her embrace, he couldn't resist watching her sleeping face, something she would find very creepy if she suddenly woke up now.

Lisbon looked so beautiful with her messy hair and her mouth lightly opened. It was torture to not wake her up just now and have some sleepy morning sex with her. Instead, Jane pleased himself by kissing her temple, a movement that made her body shift even more into his arms. One hand and knee went around his body, so she was almost lying upon him. It was just then, when he felt her knee brushing against his touchy boner, making him gasp. Hell, this woman had no idea what she did to him.

It was still early, so they had plenty of time… No. He wouldn't seduce her just now. Like he'd thought before, Lisbon needed her sleep more than he needed sex right now. He should get up, shower and make some breakfast for her, since they hadn't had anything for dinner last night. Although… she was already naked, wasn't she?

Now his smile went from soft to mischievous, when he entangled their bodies and watched her naked silhouette lying on the soft cushions on the bed. Lisbon moaned in her sleep, her hands looking for something to hold on. He'd never seen her looking more stunning than she did just then. Well, he could add Naked Lisbon to his favourite views in life now.

A yawn and her sleepily opening her eyes made him grin.

"Jane…?"

"Go back to sleep, my dear. Listen to the soft singsong of the birds outside… Can you hear them?" She closed her eyes sighing, Jane pushed a pillow towards her, which she hugged and snuggled into, immediately going back to sleep.

Leaving a light kiss on her shoulder before he got up, he saw her shivering a little. She must be cold after losing the warmth of his body. Without hesitating, he picked a blanket for the floor and spread it over his lover, so she wouldn't freeze until she woke up and got down to breakfast.

Xxxxx

Yawning Lisbon rolled over and cuddled further into the cushions. Inhaling the sweet scent on the pillow under her head, memories of last night flooded her mind. Everything seemed so unreal, like it was just a dream – a very pleasant dream so to say.

_I slept with Jane_, she thought, _Oh my God!_

What should she do now? There was no turning back, she couldn't grab her things and run this time. For once in her life, Lisbon had to fear her demons, that was the reason why she'd decided to come here last night. She didn't want to miss this chance.

They'd both wanted it to happen, otherwise last night wouldn't have felt like such a huge relief to both of them. It was like someone had finally removed the lock of Pandora's box between them. This time, they couldn't pretend nothing happened between them and she knew neither of them would want to. There was still some talking that needed to be done, but for now she had to figure out how to behave.

This situation wasn't like the ones she knew, where she'd get up after a one night stand and leave the guy for good, now she had to face Jane, face the man she'd been loving for a long time.

Sighing, Lisbon buried her face into the pillow, inhaling Jane's scent to calm herself down. She was a little afraid of cracking an eye open to probably see Jane watching her sleep. He would know by now she was awake and call her out on it, wouldn't he?

Well, maybe he knew how hard it was for her too, so he waited for her to make the first move. Lisbon waited. A minute, two… Nothing happened. No touching, no feather light kisses on her skin, no "Good morning, sleepyhead."

Carefully, Lisbon decided to not be a chicken and moved her head, so she could see the empty other half of the bed. Confusion mixed with fear made her sit straight, looking for the blonde consultant.

He didn't fall out of bed, did he? She peeked over the edge, to see nothing but his trousers from last night lying on the floor. Blushing, she turned around, rubbing her hands through her face. A part of her had been looking forward to waking up next to Patrick Jane, but on the other hand it might have been better this way.

He'd let her decide when she built up the courage to face him. Damn him. Damn him for always thinking everything through and acting so perfect.

The smell of fresh coffee streaming through the hallway woke Lisbon's attention. He was trying to get her to come downstairs. Too bad it worked. He definitely knew her too well. She hurried out of bed, looking for her clothes. Her suitcase must still be downstairs where she left it, so she had to wear what she'd worn yesterday. The problem was her clothes were no where in sight.

She hadn't been all naked when he'd carried her up the stairs, had she? Thinking back to the part where they undressed each other, she found out everything had happened in such a blurred haste, which made it impossible to remember where exactly she'd lost her clothes.

_Oh God. _This was too embarrassing. She felt like a teenager waking up in her new boyfriend's bed not knowing what to do. And there she thought those days were over – well, not when it came to Patrick Jane.

There must be at least her panties lying around here somewhere! Either she'd really been naked, or that sick bastard had hidden all her clothes on purpose. When it came to Jane, the latter sounded more like him. Although after that night… her expectations had been more than fulfilled. If their first time had been this amazing with Jane "out of shape", she wondered what it would be like if they kept on "training".

_Darn it, Teresa. One minute you're thinking this is totally awkward and wrong and now the only thing you want to know is how to get Jane into bed again. Shame on you!_

Lisbon looked around and almost jumped happily, when she saw her panties lying on a wooden rocking chair, right next to some worn shirts and a suit jacket. They must have landed there last night, when Jane had gotten rid of her clothes.

She put them on and slipped one of Jane's shirts on, buttoning a few buttons up, so her chest was covered. One quick look in the mirror told her that she didn't look as decent as she wanted to, but there was no way she could straighten her tousled hair without a brush and a hairdryer.

_A shower would be kind of nice now_, she thought, but the smell of fresh coffee grew even more intense and she decided to let things be. Jane had seen her naked and sweaty after their little encounter, so he'd have to deal with Tousled Lisbon, too.

Quietly, the agent made her way down the stairs, following the smell of coffee, which lead her directly into the kitchen, where she could see Jane standing at the stove, putting something that suspiciously looked like pancakes on a plate. He stood there with bare feet; his hair still wet from the shower and wore nothing but his pants.

Lisbon bit her lip and took a deep breath, before she stepped through the door, waiting for him to sense her presence. It was almost like she could see him smile that stupid smile of his, when he turned around, frying pan still in his hand and looked at her with adoration and satisfaction. Jane let his eyes wander over her small silhouette, pleased to see she wore one of his shirts.

Nobody said anything; they just stared at one another, incapable of saying anything that wouldn't sound stupid in their opinion. It was him, who finally decided to go for something simple like: "Good morning, honey."

"Morning", Lisbon mumbled back, not sure whether to do something girlfriend-like like going over and kiss or hug him or just waiting for him to make a move. Was the "honey" any indication for both of them being… _together _now? As in together as a couple?

They kept staring at one another for about thirty more seconds, until Jane suddenly burst into laughter, placing the frying pan on a cold place on the stove and walking over to her.

"Stop being awkward, Teresa. Everything's fine."

She didn't move until he stood right in front of her, wrapping his arms around her tiny body. "You look beautiful", he whispered, giving her a short peck on the lips, "Nice shirt by the way. Looks kinda familiar."

Lisbon wasn't able to hide her blush, but she tried to hive him The Look. "Well, this might be, because someone hid my clothes on purpose."

"I was just wondering if you had the balls to get down here naked", he winked. Just when she wanted to disagree, he pressed his lips on hers and felt her melting into him. It took him a lot longer than he'd have liked to break their slow morning kiss up. After last night, he had a hard time to resist, when it came to Teresa Lisbon. Hopefully she'd never find out, because otherwise he'd be putty in her hands.

"I'm glad you decided to stay", Jane said honestly, pressing a soft kiss on her forehead. Lisbon closed her eyes and finally wrapped her arms around his body.

"I know, I'm too." The _but_ was lying on her tongue, but she feared to say it out loud and destroy the mood. As always, Jane could sense that something wasn't as right as it should be, so he loosened one hand from her waist and pushed some tousled strands of hair behind her ear.

"What is it, Teresa? Just tell me…"

She sighed, knowing that it would be better to just let things be, but she couldn't rush into this thing without knowing what would come out in the end. She didn't want to get hurt. "I don't know… I… what is _this _Jane? This thing between us? I mean… Don't get me wrong, last night was wonderful, but I'm afraid…"

"You're afraid things will go back to what they were once we get back to Sacramento." She nodded. "Well I can assure you Lisbon, whatever we make out of _this_… It won't change. I know what I want and now that I got it I won't let go any time soon. So now it's up to you."

"Then what is it that you want?" Lisbon asked although she already knew the answer. Maybe she just needed to her it out loud to believe it.

"I want you, you little fool." He sealed it with a short kiss, before he rested his forehead against hers. "I love you."

The petite brunette gasped surprised, her eyes wide open, but Jane just smiled and nodded towards the kitchen table. "I made pancakes. Do you want some coffee?" Without waiting for an answer, he guided her over to a free chair at the table and sat a pretty cup filled with coffee in front of her. Lisbon raised an eyebrow, but Jane encouraged her to go on and take a sip.

"It's cinnamon", she mumbled pleased with a smile on her face. The coffee was sweet and with her favorite flavor, just what she needed right now. A memory of her first night at the other house in San Diego came to her mind, when she got up and Mancini had prepared this disgusting strong cup of coffee for her. Maybe it was cliché, but if a man couldn't make her a good cup of coffee, he wasn't the right one anyways.

"It tastes just like the coffee from Marie's", Lisbon grinned, taking another sip.

"Maybe that's because it is", Jane answered, "You don't want to know what it cost me to get one bag of these coffee beans in my hands. They're as hard to get as an autograph of the Queen."

The agent laughed, a little touched over the fact Jane took so much effort to get her favorite coffee. "Thank you, it's delicious. Now… You really made pancakes?"

"After my grandmother's recipe. I hope they're good, it's been a while since I last made them." His face darkened for a second, but Lisbon knew better than to call him out on it. She knew he must be thinking about his late family and how hard it must be to let them go. He'd not been wearing his wedding ring for the time they spent in San Diego and she wondered what he'd done with it. It must've hurt him to be without this reminder of his former life.

Still, he loved her. Jane had told her and not taken it back. So she should get over her doubts and finally start believing that this could work. One day she'd ask him to tell her about Angela and Charlotte... until then, they should enjoy the little time they had before they had to go back to Sacramento.

"Try them." The consultant held a small piece of pancake with syrup up, so she could take a bite, moaning when the delicious sweetness of the pancake combined with the syrup flooded her senses.

"This is so good… You could cook for me all day", she laughed.

"I will", Jane promised. He'd make sure Lisbon would gain at least three pounds before she got back to Sacramento. The woman in question only grinned. The awkwardness between them was gone, replaced by a comfortable light mood between the agent and her consultant.

They kept on feeding each other with pancakes, followed by a few giggles and lovesick looks. Again, Lisbon felt like she was living in some kind of perfect little San Diego bubble, just waiting for someone to destroy their newfound happiness.

After they finished their breakfast, Lisbon insisted on helping Jane to put the dishes in the dish washer and clean the kitchen a little, since he was the one to make her the wonderful meal. After cleaning her hands under the water in the sink, Lisbon wanted to turn around, just to feel Jane standing right behind her. He had this crazy look that he sometimes got when he was obsessed with something. Well, right now his obsession was her.

It took her not by surprise, when he lifted her up on a free counter, standing between her legs and kissing her roughly.

"You taste so good", he mumbled, biting her lower lip carefully, "I could kiss you all day."

Lisbon smiled, trying to hide her blush by burying her head on his shoulder, so Jane could continue kissing her neck and shoulders. This morning was so perfect, it almost hurt. Nothing stood between them anymore, nothing they couldn't talk about. Well, except for one thing…

"I didn't sleep with him", Lisbon said quietly. Jane wasn't sure if he had heard right, so he stopped, lifting her chin up so her eyes would meet his.

"What?"

"I didn't sleep with Mancini the other night. He kissed me, yes, but after our argument, I… wanted to get one over you. So when he came into my room, kissing me and pushing me up against the window, I knew you were watching us."

Jane raised an eyebrow. He'd always knows Lisbon could be mean, but this… Well, she'd played him and as the idiot he was, he'd believed everything he saw. Now he understood why Mancini had acted so surprised when they had the fight over Lisbon. Suddenly everything made sense.

"I'm sorry if this hurt you", Lisbon said honestly, watching his reaction. "But I have to admit seeing you so jealous was more fun than I thought."

"I wasn't jealous!", Jane exclaimed, pinching her in the side so Lisbon shrieked and his him lightly on the arm.

"Yes you were Patrick Jane. Don't try to hide it from me. You can put your mind at rest, I never wanted anything from Mancini."

"Then why did you agree to come with him in the first place?", Jane asked with a smirk.

"Maybe I just wanted a little vacation from you and your crazy schemes. Just admit that you were jealous, Jane."

"Or what?"

"Or I won't show you what I intended to do with you this morning, finding out you were suddenly gone. I had so many things in mind… so many little fantasies you can not imagine…"

"My, my, Teresa! Aren't you the little firecracker I always knew you were", the consultant laughed, having a hard time to not have his way with her right there on the kitchen counter. If this woman knew which power she actually had over him, he'd be screwed. He had to make sure she'd never find out. "I didn't know you'd be one for lazy morning sex." Of course she was.

Lisbon just shrugged, closing her legs around his body and pulling him closer to her middle. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me Jane. You didn't make any plans for us today, did you?"

"Not that I know of."

"Good", she said, starting to open the shirt she wore until Jane could see the fine rounding's of her breasts. When her cold fingers brushed over the soft skin and her nipples hardened, Jane couldn't stand the tension anymore. He ripped the shirt open completely while the bulge in his pants brushed against her heated middle.

Although he hadn't intended to, he had his way with her right on the counter. Lazy morning sex? As if!

* * *

After the counter, they'd moved things up to the bathroom, where they experienced a more than sensual shower. Jane loved that he started to get to know every tiny part of Lisbon's body. It was easy to memorize which spot was more sensitive than the other and what made her body melt like wax into his touch.

She stepped out of the shower, grabbing one of the fluffy towels and wrapped it around her body. Jane followed quickly after, a little disappointed that she took the sight of her beautiful wet body away from him.

"Without wanting to give your ego another boost… this was amazing, Jane."

"Don't you think you could manage to call me Patrick? At least when we're in private?", he asked a little annoyed. It was so easy to call her Teresa, so why did she still stick to Jane? He'd told her he loved her for God's sake!

Lisbon leaned against him, teasing his wet upper body with her fingers. "It's habit I guess. You know, whenever you're up to something stupid it's easier to yell at you by calling you Jane rather than Patrick." The consultant still didn't seem pleased with this explanation. He pushed his lower lip forward and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Lisbon nudged him softly.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. You really want me to say it right? Fine!" She rolled her eyes and stepped backwards, hands on her hips. "You were amazing _Patrick. _God you're such a child."

"That's what I wanted to hear my dear", he laughed, "Seems like I know how to push your buttons." He'd always know which buttons to push when it came to Lisbon. Too bad Lisbon wasn't a rookie on how to handle him either. She'd learned a lot over the years.

"Gee thanks. Just don't expect me to pay you off now for pushing the button. You're an idiot!"

Now they both laughed. It was good to see their usual friendly banter hadn't stopped just because they were kind of _together_ now. The case was closed and a full week of fun and joy lay in front of them.

Too bad though, Jane's mind had other plans. He dropped his towel, grabbing Lisbon's shoulders. "What did you just say?"

"You're an idiot", Lisbon repeated smiling. Yes, Jane was an idiot, but the best thing about this was, he was _her _idiot now.

"No, no, that thing you said before the idiot!"

For a second, the agent played with the thought to play dumb and repeat the words he'd told her last time. "_What did I say? I was kinda hyped up._" Well, now she had her answer, so there was no point in toying, since Jane looked pretty serious about it too.

"I said I won't pay you off for finding out which buttons to push."

Jane's face was fixed on her, his brain was working. Suddenly a big smile flashed on his face and he pulled Lisbon close to kiss her. "That's it! That's how they did it!"

"What? What are you talking about?", Lisbon asked confused, but Jane just grabbed his towel and ran off to his room to change into his clothes. "Come on, Jane! Who did what?"

She ran after him, realizing she still had nothing to wear since her suitcase was still downstairs. "Jane! Tell me." He didn't say anything, just getting dressed quickly. "Jane. Jane! Patrick! Either you tell me now or I swear you won't get laid for the rest of your life!"

That hit close to home. Jane turned around, a frightened expression on his face: "Gosh woman, calm down. Don't blackmail a man with the only thing that's worth living for."

Lisbon raised an annoyed eyebrow but she wanted him to continue. "Listen. When we got down to talk to Nikki and Rebecca, I saw the officer who found the trigger to open the safe coming out of the kitchen and he was hiding something. I found it weird, because if you were a young officer and made such a discovery, you'd stay there, wanting everyone to see it wouldn't you?"

"Yeah… I guess… At least I'd wanted it to be reported to my boss so he know I did good work on the case…"

"Exactly. The officer came in, just when we entered the office and started looking ourselves. Now, tell me, how big is the chance that if you were told to search a _huge_ bookshelf, the first book you pulled out is the trigger for the safe."

"It could have been a coincidence", Lisbon mumbled, knowing what would follow.

"There is no such thing as coincidence, Teresa. It made me suspicious but I didn't pay further attention to it, because I had other things in mind." He gave her a knowing look. "Which drug baron would be so stupid and hide the drugs in his own house?"

"Maybe he was confident we wouldn't find out it was him. But you're right… Do you think Nikki and Rebecca are involved?"

Jane could tell Lisbon didn't feel comfortable to talk about her friends like this, but they weren't her friends anymore, they'd made that clear. "Listen, Teresa. I have this feeling and I know something is rotten in the state of Carmel Valley. We should ask Van Pelt to run a background check on the finances of Nikki and Rebecca."

"I don't know if we're allowed to do this without contacting the FBI or SDPD… but we could be wrong, could we?" She winked and Jane wanted to kiss her for thinking a little more like him each time. "I'll head downstairs and contact Van Pelt and take this opportunity to finally get something to wear."

"To be honest, I'd prefer you wearing the nude look all day."

"You're such a perv!", she hissed, unable to hide her grin while turning around and heading for the stairs. Jane only chuckled.

* * *

Two hours later, the agent and her consultant sat at the kitchen table, laptop and files in front of them. Lisbon had talked to Van Pelt and given her a quick summary of what happened, so she could check the Brenner's and Aaron's private accounts.

"_After I didn't find any suspicious transactions on the Brenner's account, I looked for hidden alias accounts_", the young Agent explained through the loud speaker of Lisbon's cell.

"What did you find?"

"_Nothing. But then I decided to run a background check on Nicole Brenner to see if I find anything. Turns out her maiden name was Hoffman, so I looked for other accounts that could be connected. It took some time, but I could track down a fake bank account on the Seychelles under the name "Nick Hoffman"."_

Lisbon looked at Jane, who shrugged with his shoulders, waiting for her to ask Van Pelt the burning question. "Why do you think this account belongs to Ni… Mrs. Brenner? I mean there could be like a thousand Nick Hoffman's in the U.S."

"_That's right, but it has a P.B.O. located in San Diego. I called them and asked them for more information about the owner, since there had to be someone to collect the mail or something. At first they weren't very cooperative, but after threatening them with prosecution they gave me access to the surveillance material. I identified Nicole Brenner on one of the videos via facial recognition. She'd dressed up differently, but thanks to the program we know it was her."_

"Do you know anything about the money on the bank account?", Jane asked suddenly.

"_I couldn't track down all transactions, because my powers are limited, but I… wait… what the…?"_

"What's wrong?", Lisbon asked. It seemed like something was going very wrong.

"_Boss… All the money is gone. It seems like someone transferred a part of it to another account and drew out the rest of the money in cash."_

"Where?", the agent asked harshly. She gestured Jane to get his suit jacket and the car keys. Too bad her own car was still in Sacramento and Mancini had the Porsche. So they had to drive with Jane's excuse of a car.

"_At a bank in San Diego city. I'll text you the address_", Van Pelt explained.

"Good work Van Pelt. Do me a favour and contact Mancini. Tell him what you just found out and make his team look for the damn money. We have to go." Lisbon hung up and got into the car with Jane, who was happy he would be the one to drive.

"Where to first?", Jane asked.

"Drive me back to the Brenner's house. I wanna see if Nikki is at home or if she's really that bitch who'd tricked us into believing her and her friend's husband were El Baron!"

Jane did as she asked and turned his Citroen in the right direction. For once Lisbon didn't complain about him breaking any speed limit and arriving at the Brenner's house in five instead of fifteen minutes.

"If Nikki and Rebecca are behind all this, Veronica must be too", Lisbon mumbled when she got out of the car and headed straight toward Nikki's front door. She rang the bell and hammered against the door with her fist. "Mrs. Brenner, this is the CBI, open up!"

No answer. Knowing no one would open her any time soon, the agent stepped back and kicked the door in. "Police!" Jane watched his furious little firecracker with a worried expression on his face. Sure she was mad the two – or thee women tricked her, but she couldn't lose her calmness just now.

"No one is here, Lisbon. They are gone."

"That bitch hit me in the face and made me feel guilty for arresting her husband, for ruining her life. But it was her. The whole time it was her and Rebecca and probably Veronica too."

"Why do you think Veronica is hand in glove with them? I mean Brenner and Aaron okay, but… Wait. What is Veronica's surname?"

"Ellis… why…? Oh." Lisbon's eyes widened and she grabbed Jane's arm in surprise. "Could it be that easy?"

Jane almost laughed and hit his forehead with his hand. "That's it. It's been the whole time right under our noses, Lisbon. Ellis, Brenner and Aaron. El Baron. It's so simple. Why didn't I think about this earlier?"

"I think we should call for backup now. Let's drive to the bank and see if we can find out where Nikki went with all the money. I'll call SDPD asking them to arrest the officer who helped them and send three squad cars to the houses so they can make sure to arrest them, if they are as stupid to turn up here again. They'd planned everything from the second I met them, right?"

"Probably. But it's not your fault, Teresa. They even tricked me." He gave her a quick kiss on the mouth, before he got back into the car and drove off to San Diego City.

"That's the only thing about this story that calms me a little down. They conned the con. It must hit your ego pretty hard."

"Believe it or not, Teresa. Not everything in this world is about my ego." She didn't comment on this, just smiled and started to make some calls.

* * *

About an hour later, after they finally got through the huge San Diego afternoon traffic, they arrived at the bank Van Pelt had told them.

"Mancini is going to contact his people here, who still work on the case. They sent someone to check the houses of Nikki, Rebecca and Veronica and put out an APB for the officer who found the trigger for the safe. He called in sick this morning and is nowhere to be found."

Jane nodded and watched her push her phone back into her pocket. She seemed angry and annoyed, two feeling Jane just knew too well, but Lisbon was punishing herself for something that wasn't her fault. Carefully, he covered her hand with his.

The agent looked up, failing to give him a small smile. "It's not your fault, Teresa."

"Well it is. I should have known. I should have known the first day when Nikki came to me instead of staying with someone else on the party. The way she introduced me to her little club… They must have been laughing their heads off behind my back. "That stupid little cop from Sacramento", they would have said, "looking for a drug boss that's right under her nose." Ha! I'm so stupid. I felt _sorry _for them, Jane. Sorry, because I arrested their husbands and destroyed their lives although _they _were the ones who sent their husbands off to jail."

"Stop saying that, Teresa. It's not your fault and you know it." He tried to look her in the eye, but Lisbon got out of the car, storming up the entrance stairs of the bank building. "Teresa, wait!"

She flashed her badge to one of the employees, asking for the security chef to give them access to the material. First he tried to refuse, wanting to see a warrant, but the man saw the look in Lisbon's eyes and even Jane had to admit she could be quite scary if she wanted to.

"Did this woman have another account at this bank?" She flashed a picture of Nikki to the man, who's name badge said "Peters".

"Please Miss, this is the bank's secret information... We're not allowed…", Peters swallowed hard, "I'll call one of the employees…"

While the man almost ran off, Lisbon asked the man who was responsible for the video surveillance to go back to the time when Nikki drew out the money.

"Can you zoom in?", she asked. Waiting for the image to clear off, Jane drew in a sharp breath, when he saw neither Nikki's nor Rebecca's but Veronica's face in the video.

"There we have out proof that Veronica is working with them, too. Darn it, Jane, we have to get them. Do you think they are already off to Mexico?"

Jane wasn't sure what to say, so he kept on thinking what he would do if he was a mug, wanting to leave the country. "They can't stay here, they have to leave the country. I guess we already have people at every airport and at the Mexican border, do we?"

Lisbon nodded, waiting for him to continue. "They need the possibility to get out of the U.S. without being seen. The harbour. The Brenner's company! It'd be so easy to go by ship and getting off somewhere along the coast, don't you think?"

All of a sudden Lisbon started to smile, grabbing her phone and calling Van Pelt. This hint was as good as any and since Jane was right most of the time… Of course she wouldn't tell him that in person.

"Van Pelt, can you find out if there's any ship of the Brenner's company with cargo from the Aaron's that's leaving the harbour to Mexico or any other place in South America today? … Alright, thank you!" She quickly made another call, asking for someone to get to the bank and collect the surveillance video and other evidence.

"The only ship going to Acapulco, Mexico today from San Diego is one of the Brenner's company. They're leaving around six."

"That's in one and a half hours", Jane stated.

"Then we have to hurry. Let's go! I'll call for backup while we're on our way."

* * *

_It is very quiet at this part of the harbour_; Jane thought when he got out of the car. The sun was still shining, but at the end of the horizon they could already see the orange and red colors of the dawn glittering over the sea. Thinking back, twelve hours ago he'd been lying in bed with Lisbon, skin on skin. Now they were off to catch criminals.

A smile hushed over his face. It'd always be like that. When they'd be back in Sacramento, they'd have to get up in the middle of the night to solve crimes and catch criminals. Somehow he was looking forward to it. Going home with her… making love to her… waking up next to her… All of a sudden his life started to make sense again.

He'd spend every free minute with her – if she'd let him of course. Oh how he was already looking forward to the hot and angry make up sex when he'd done something stupid at work again. Although he knew he'd be painting a target on her back by making their romance official, there was no chance he could've waited any longer. Red John or not. The consultant still wanted revenge, but he wouldn't give up what he had with Lisbon, to go back to his lonely, revenge driven life in the CBI attic.

Who knew, maybe, after they caught Red John he'd have the chance to _really_ move on with his life. And who would be a better person but his saviour St. Teresa?

Jane watched his love out of the corner of his eye. Her brows were furrowed and her arms crossed in front of her chest. She was analyzing the situation, debating whether to wait for the backup or go right in and blow their cover.

"You don't have some bullet proof vests in your car, do you?", she finally asked. The consultant gave her a look that made her shook her head. "I thought so… hmmm. Then you'll stay here for backup while I go inside and check everything out. Once the FBI arrives, you can come after me."

"Please, Teresa", Jane said, not being able to hide the sarcasm in his voice, "do you really think I'll let you go in there alone? You don't know if they are armed or alone. What if they have help?"

"To be honest, Jane, I don't think you'd be a big help in there either. Whenever you see guns you run and hide."

"I shot Hardy for you", he mumbled and saw how she flinched. It'd been years ago, but she still remembered the moment when she looked into the barrel of Hardy's gun like yesterday. She could have died, but Jane had shot him without hesitance. Back then, this had been the first time she'd thought that she meant something to him, that she was more than just his boss. A friend.

"You did and you know I'm still thankful for it. Still…"

"There's no way I'm letting you go in there alone, Lisbon. Either we're waiting for backup or I'm going with you. It'd your choice." Lisbon saw the determination in his eyes. Why did she even bother asking him to do something she wanted if he did what he wanted in the end anyways?

"Here." His eyes widened when she gave him one of her two guns. "Take it. You never know if you might need it. Backup will arrive in about thirty minutes."

Although he knew it was cliché, Jane stepped forward and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips, knowing this would be the last one until everything was over. "Then let's go."

They snuck up behind some dumpsters, checking the area for security cameras, so their antagonists wouldn't know their presence immediately. "Can you see anything?" Lisbon asked silently.

"There are two men loading a container with cardboard boxes. They are armed. I can't see any of the women. If we sneak up behind the wheel loader, we can hide behind the containers and plan our next move. Come on."

"Wait, Jane, we have to… _Jane!_" But the consultant was already running towards the big wheel loader, giving her a sign to follow him. Lisbon waited for the air to be clear and ran over, ducking behind the second wheel.

Now that they were closer, Lisbon had a better chance to see the two men and caught a breath, when she recognized one of them as Glock, the driver of the truck and the other one as his boss, Colt, a chill ran down her spine. It was a dangerous situation indeed. The two men wouldn't hesitate to shoot them right here and there, that much she knew. When she told Jane about her discovery, he didn't seem very happy about it.

"We have to be very careful", she mumbled, "Otherwise we're dead."

"We should have waited for backup", Jane admitted.

"Well, we don't have backup now, Jane. Let's go and find a better place to hide, before they find us. Can you understand anything they say? Jane…? What the…?"

She turned to the side, just to see Jane standing right in front of a man who'd pointed his gun straight to her consultant's head. He was bald, tall and heavy, loaded with too many muscles and a disgusting scar over his right cheek. Well, she hadn't seen this coming.

Jane threw her an apologetic glance and put his hands over his head, while Lisbon's eyes widened in shock.

How was that possible? They hadn't seen a third person and now… For a second, she considered using her gun, but the chance she'd hit Jane was just too big. As if the consultant had read her thoughts, he shook his head. Lisbon was a good shot, but he didn't want to risk getting a bullet in his head.

The man pushed the gun closer to the back of his head and the cold metal made Jane shiver. They _really _should have waited for backup.

"Get up, now! Or I'll shoot Blondie here right in the head. Oh and don't you dare to use your gun. Kick it away. Now", the man said and pressed the barrel against Jane's blonde curls.

"Do as he says, Teresa", he pleaded. Lisbon's breathing quickened. This was not good, this was indeed _not good_.

_Concentrate, Teresa. Think about what you learned during your training…_ Too bad in theory these situations were much easier to be solved than in reality. Carefully, she laid her gun down on the floor and stood up with her hands raised. She kicked the gun a few yards away, knowing she wouldn't have a chance to get it back in foreseeable future.

"Now walk. Don't try anything funny or Blondie will be a redhead soon." He laughed over his stupid joke and pushed Jane roughly forwards. The consultant himself seemed more annoyed than anything. Not just for the fact that this was the second hostage situation for him in less than a week but that his hair color seemed to be the only significant thing about him.

A witty remark was on the tip of his tongue, but when Lisbon turned around and he could see her frightened gaze he swallowed it down.

"Ey! Colt, Glock, look what I found here hiding out behind the wheel loader." The two men looked up. Colt recognized them immediately and shot them a sickening smile.

"If that's not Blondie and the police chick. Good job, Beretta. Tried to spy on us again, huh? Oh, the bosses won't be happy." Colt stepped forward and nodded towards the two intruders. "Glock, go and cuff them with the zip ties. Make sure to search them first, not that they have bugs on them."

"They said backup would arrive soon", Beretta explained, pushing Jane against the wall, whole Glock took care of Lisbon. "If that's true it won't take long until we have the place surrounded by cops. Maybe we should tell the bosses."

"I'll do it", Colt said, "They might want to leave the place immediately. Call the rest of the crew and make sure they get the ship ready. We'll leave as soon as possible."

"What shall we do with them?", Glock asked.

He was about to bind Lisbon's hands behind her back, when she realized Beretta had to lie his weapon on the ground in order to tie Jane up. Maybe this was her chance. Jane must still have the gun she gave him; since she hadn't seen it lying on the ground before their cover had been blown up. She felt Glock turning his attention towards Clot again and used her chance.

With a quick move, the agent rammed her elbow into Glock's lower body part and hit his nose with her balled fist. He went down immediately. Colt reached for his own pistol, but Lisbon kicked it out of his hand, hitting him hard in the stomach. The man grabbed her arms and threw her against the wall, all air escaped her lungs and pain spread through her whole body.

She got up just in time to avoid a hard kick into her stomach, ducked down and tackled him down with a loud "Argh!".

In the meantime, Jane had problems to deal with Beretta. He wasn't as fit at Lisbon and his last fight with fists had been at the carnival, when he'd scared of some drunkards who'd been harassing Angela. So ducking down from Beretta's iron fists was the only thing he could manage at the time.

Just when he saw Lisbon and Colt going down and almost thought they had a chance, Glock got up again and threw himself on the fighting agent and his boss. Lisbon screamed, trying to get rid of the two heavy bidoes that were pressing her down now, but she had no chance.

A sudden shot disturbed the fight and made everyone look up. Nikki was standing in front of them holding a gun that was pointed straight into the air. She looked annoyed and furious at her henchmen, then to Jane and Lisbon.

"What the hell is this?! Get up!" Colt and Glock got up, dragging Lisbon who was still trying to fight them with them."

"It's the police, Boss", Colt explained, "They were here the other night when the operation with the truck went wrong. Beretta found them hiding here somewhere and spying on us. I was just on my way to tell you, when the woman started a fight…"

"You should be ashamed! Two of you havening trouble to deal with a small woman as our Agent Lisbon here is. By the way, nice to see you, Agent. I was wondering if you would show up." Nikki's voice was as cold as ice and made Lisbon shiver. Gone was the attitude of the good friend. She was all business now.

Suddenly, Lisbon understood why she and her friends were the bosses of a big drugs and arms deal. "I'm not sure if it's nice to see you too, Mrs. Brenner", the agent answered.

"Why so formal, Teresa? I mean we shared so many intimate details over the last two weeks… It was barely breaking my heart when I saw how you struggled to be with the FBI idiot rather than Jane here. Come on, Beretta, bring Jane forward. It was almost too easy to leak enough information so you would think it my husband was the one involved. Awww your little conversation followed by the kiss in my man's office was so heart warming…" The sarcasm was not to overhear.

Lisbon struggled angrily, to free herself, but Clot kicked her in the hollow of the knee. "Get up, Bitch!", Glock said grinning, ripping her on the feet again.

"You knew I was a cop all along!", Lisbon hissed. Suddenly Jane was shoved beside her, his arms crosses painfully behind his back. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but Beretta rammed his elbow in his back so he cringed.

Nikki watched the men hurting them with a big smile on her face. "Of course I knew, honey."

"We knew you were cops the moment we saw you", Veronica added as she stepped out of the shadows of the storage house. "Everything is finished, Nikki. We can leave before the cops arrive."

"What shall we do with them, boss?", Colt asked.

Now Rebecca appeared next to her two friends, arms crossed and a sly smile on her face. "What is it, guys? We're having guests and you're not even inviting me to the party? Oh, Agent Lisbon. What a lovely coincidence. Are you coming to tell me my husband has been framed? That's too bad, I already know." She giggled, leaning against Veronica's shoulder.

"Any creative thoughts of how to get rid of them?", Veronica asked.

"Usually I'm not one for killing off people just right off the hook, but they _did_ screw up our deal last week, so… Maybe we can but their feet in cement and drown them in the sea? It's this what they would do in the movies?", Nikki suggested.

"Don't you think that's a little bit too mafia like? What happened to the good old headshot? We can still drown their bodies afterwards", Rebecca said.

"Whatever it is ladies, you should hurry. I mean our friends from the police will be here in a few, so…" Jane was hit in the back once again and sunk down to the ground coughing.

"Jane!", Lisbon screamed, but she wasn't able to get down to him since Colt and Glock were still holding her in place.

"Who asked you, Goldilocks?!"

"Why are you doing this?", Lisbon addressed Nikki and her friends, "Why would you risk your own husbands going to jail and killing us just like that if you know you won't get through with this?"

"Oh, you think we're not getting through with this? Let me tell you something, sweet cheeks. Women in our society are powerless. Look at the women of Carmel Valley! They rather play the pet of some rich old guy who buys them shiny stuff instead of doing something with their lives! We have power. _I _have power. That what it is about. You're asking why I would let my husband go to jail? Because he _deserves_ it!" Nikki stepped forward, pointing a gun at Lisbon who held her breath.

"We have money, we can buy us everything we want!", Rebecca agreed, "Kill them, guys and hide their bodies. We have a ship to catch."

Just when the three women wanted to leave the place, the sound of sirens appeared closely.

"Let's get out of here, girls." They left Jane and Lisbon with the three men without watching back one last time.

"Get up, Blondie or I'm gonna shoot you right there." Jane, who was still lying on the ground flinched again, but brought up the power to get up and stand half heartedly. Beretta took his gun that had been lying on the ground and pointed it at Jane. "Good night!"

"No!", Lisbon screamed, breaking free from the two men that were holding her and tackled the man to the ground. Although she'd been in time, a shot went off and Jane watched the sleeve of his grey suit jacket soaking the red warm blood that came out of the wound.

"Jane! No!" He went down, eyes still on the shot wound, his breath hitching. Lisbon wanted to get to him, wanted it so badly, but she'd trouble to keep Beretta from firing another shot and at the same time kicking Colt and Glock from dragging her away.

"FBI, put the gun down!", someone screamed a few yards away from them. Relief flooded Lisbon's system – backup finally arrived.

"It's over, the place is surrounded by the FBI and the police. If you don't want a murder charge added to your prosecution, you should let it go", Lisbon said breathing heavily.

Clot decided to run, while Glock and Beretta held their hands up, waiting for the upcoming officers to arrest them. They just knew when things were over.

"Agent Lisbon, is everything alright?", one of the Agents Lisbon recognized from the day before asked.

She nodded weakly, getting off the floor and watching Jane who was leaning against the wall, his eyes closed: "I'm fine, but I think my colleague needs an ambulance. Quick, please. He's been shot."

"We'll take care of it", the agent reassured her and let her finally go.

Lisbon ran towards Jane and knelt down. "Please, Jane… Please wake up! Jane… Wake up. It's me… The ambulance is on its way… Patrick! Come on!" She felt for his pulse and her eyes widened in fear. "Jane!"

* * *

OHOH! Jane was shot :O Please don't hate me for it! I hope you had fun reading the chapter.

Were you surprised Nikki and her friends turned out to be the "bad guys"? What do you think will happen with Jane and Lisbon now?  
I'd love to hear what you thought of this chapter, so every review is gladly appreciated :)

Have a great summer and find something to survive the hiatus with ;)

Liefs


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